


The Blue Butterfly

by Lorelai_of_mexx



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Betrayal, Blow Jobs, Drunken Flirting, F/M, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Smut, Fun, Happy Ending, Jewelry, Marriage Proposal, Museums, Necklaces, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Paralysis, Sassy Rey (Star Wars), Tags Are Hard, Vaginal Sex, Woman on Top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:33:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 41,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26121211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorelai_of_mexx/pseuds/Lorelai_of_mexx
Summary: Rey Niima is a talented thief and has stolen a valuable necklace.Ben Solo is an insurance investigator and wants to get the 'Blue Butterfly' back and put the lovely Miss Niima behind bars.The two involuntarily come closer and for Rey the cat and mouse game starts to become dangerous in every respect.Translated from german with deepl
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 34
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

"The blue butterfly is an artfully crafted piece of jewelry.  
The enchanting butterfly-shaped piece of jewellery hangs from a cord chain made of solid 24-carat yellow gold.  
With 22 pure white and 4 blue diamonds, its value could rival that of the Hope Diamond." warbles the museum employee.  
"The management of the Chandrila Museum is delighted to be able to exhibit this valuable loan. And we are pleased, dear Governor, to invite you to a private viewing before the official press launch."  
The museum employee is doing her best to butter the governor up so that he will later be able to collect one or two donations from his ribs.

The steps of her shoes echo from the walls covered with pictures as they walk through the empty museum to the jewellery exhibition.  
"My wife has been bugging me for weeks to be able to visit this exhibition. My dear Birdy is a big jewellery fanatic... which only my bank account can prove." the politician mumbles happily and secretly can't wait to sit in his leather chair again and swirl a good whisky.

After some exhibition areas, they finally arrive at the final attraction. In a round of extra space, which has two exits, and through which the visitors can later enter the room on one side and leave it again on the other side. The heavy steel gates are still closed, but the young employee is already holding her key card against the reading field.

With a loud beeping and some jerking the gates move into the ceiling.  
"You have obviously spared no expense to secure the jewelry?!" the governor amusedly notes.

As soon as the museum employee and her two VIP guests enter the room, her polite professional smile disappears with a single blow.  
In front of them, on an elevation, stands a well-lit glass display case. The rest of the room is kept in darkness, so that the main focus is only on the exhibit.  
There is only one problem ... the showcase is empty.

After a frightened inhalation the young woman immediately runs to the next wall and presses the alarm button.  
In the next moment loud sirens can be heard and all over the house the security systems switch on.

Someone has stolen the almost priceless and world famous blue butterfly!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Friday 10:43 pm.

Detective Jyn Erso

Jyn Erso stares listlessly from the passenger window of the car. Her partner Cassian Andor steers the car through the almost empty streets of Chandrila.  
"Who would think of robbing a museum on a Friday evening of all days?" she asks annoyed and suppresses the urge to press her forehead against the window pane.

"Oh come on Corazon! What else would you have done on a Friday night except fall asleep on the couch with a bottle of wine and a bad movie? It's much better to spend the evening with your good-looking colleague and catch a petty thief in the process."

Some days Jyn hates her partner. In all points where she is only grumpy and bad-tempered, Cassian impresses with his good mood and charm.  
Since she transferred to the robbery squad a year ago, Detective Erso has been working with Detective Andor, investigating all cases of robbery, theft, burglary, fraud and bank robbery.

And for exactly one year now, her partner has been trying to land her. Meanwhile she can ignore his offensive flirtation attempts, but he still seems to want to attract her attention by cleverly placed hints.  
Now a theft in a prestigious museum is of course a real change but... on a Friday evening of all days?  
  
"And what was stolen this time? A painting, a sculpture or something made of gold?" she asks bored.  
"Something of gold! The blue butterfly." Cassian reports.  
"I think I've heard of him. It was supposed to be presented to the press tomorrow..."  
"That's right." He says, and can't help but notice a slight warp in the corners of his mouth.  
"This means that starting tomorrow morning, the press vultures will be circling overhead."  
Annoyed, Jyn moans as they arrive at the museum.  
"Well, let's go."  
The young detective climbs out of the car into the cool night air with a queasy feeling.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Miss Rey Niima

Tense, Rey watches the two policemen listlessly get out of the car and walk towards the hectically waving museum director.  
She stands next to a mailbox, holding her elbow with one hand and nibbling her thumbnail with the other.  
Even though she has trained herself every other nervous tic, she still can't stop nibbling her thumb (or sucking it from time to time during the night).

She knows about the two detectives. She knows about their high clearance rate, their commendations and their methods... and she knows that they will never be able to figure them out.

Satisfied, she takes a deep breath and is about to leave when a black limousine pulls up behind the police car.  
Out of the car emerges a veritable tree of a man. Loosely 6 feet high (or more). Pleasantly broad shoulders, longer hair (the colour cannot be seen clearly in the dim street lighting, but she estimates it to be dark brown or black) and an expensive looking suit.

Something about him irritates her, but she is not sure what it is yet.  
Before she can think about it further, her second cell phone beeps and she takes it out of her jacket pocket.  
As soon as she tries to put it to her ear, she realizes that the big man has spotted her.  
She stares at him spellbound and hardly notices that she has already taken the call.

Just in time she understands: "Mos Eisley Diner, corner of 5th and Wilsonstreet! One hour!"  
Without another word, the conversation ends on the other side and Rey tears herself away from the man's intense gaze.  
Silently, she puts the phone back in her pocket, turns around and walks away.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ben Solo

Without ceasing, Ben watches the young woman in the cream-coloured coat as she disappears into the darkness of the night.  
What is a young woman looking for at this time of night in front of an empty museum? Especially a museum that was robbed a few hours ago?

But as soon as she disappears from his field of vision, he does not think about it any further.  
Wordlessly he enters the almost deserted museum and, passing the three witnesses who are still being questioned, he enters the back of the lavish jewellery exhibition.  
The two detectives, Erso and Andor, are still questioning the nervous museum director Armitage Hux.

"And there was no one else who entered this room after the object was brought here?" asks Detective Andor.  
"No! Only my assistant Miss Milisanth and I possess a key card for this area."  
"What about the camera? Can we look at the tapes?" asks Jyn  
"You're welcome to do so, but the camera will turn off when the gates are closed."  
"Well, that's just fantastic!" moans Cassian.

"What did they exhibit here before?" Ben asks in between.  
"Uh! Excuse me?" Cassian asks irritated.  
"Uh, it was on loan from The Tower, the Anne Boleyn pearl necklace!" informs Hux.

"Excuse me! Who are you?" Jyn asks irritated.  
"Oh! Excuse me! My name is Ben Solo. I've been sent by Resistan Insurance to investigate this theft." Ben introduces himself politely and offers his hand to Hux.  
He swallows tortured and grabs it.  
"We are very interested in recovering the play, Mr. Hux!"

"Well that's just great! An insurance investigator!" exclaims Andor.  
"I promise not to get in your way, but my company insists I be kept informed of the progress of the investigation. My bosses have already discussed it with your department chief."

The sheer size of his counterpart keeps Cassian from yelling out loud.  
Jyn can sense that her partner is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, which is very unusual for him, and has to refrain from giggling.

"Until when was the Boleyn necklace exhibited?" Ben asks Hux.  
"Uh... it was on display until Wednesday and was sent back to London yesterday by express mail. It should arrive early tomorrow morning! Oh, my God, what if they has this necklace too?"  
"Calm down!" Ben interrupts the red-headed man, who appears to be almost hyperventilating.  
"I want to see the surveillance footage of this room for the last three days of the show!" he orders and Hux reacts immediately and leads the three investigators to the surveillance room.

On the way there, Cassian whispers in his partner's ear that she is coming to her boring movie night after all.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Rey Niima  
Friday 11:49 pm

The Mos Eisley Diner is a typical American 24/7 diner that offers coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and most importantly, homemade cake from morning till night.  
The room is decorated in light colours, and is only interrupted by the dark red leatherette upholstery of the benches.  
The counter takes up the entire back wall and is also the transition to the kitchen.  
On the remaining three sides there are tables with the benches and in the middle of the room there are another four such groups of seats, separated by a wall about waist height.

There are almost no more guests present. But at three of the four groups of seats there is one person each. All of them sit with their backs turned.  
Rey, with her elegant blue sheath dress and the beige wool coat, feels a bit overdressed, ignores the feeling and sits down in the last free seating group.

After she has put her coat down next to her, a friendly smiling waitress arrives.  
"What can I get you, sweetie?"  
Also, her meanwhile finer clothing style does not help her in her 24 years of age to get over the fact that most people think she is even younger. Unfortunately, she is rarely taken seriously for this reason, but she doesn't care now.

"A cup of coffee please and... do you happen to have chocolate cake?" she asks hopefully.  
The waitress doesn't move a muscle. "Unfortunately not any more, we sold the last piece five minutes ago. But how about a piece of cherry or apple pie instead?"  
Taking a deep breath, she purses her lips and then replies.  
"Then please, the apple pie!"  
The waitress nods and goes behind the counter.

With a prudent glance at the waitress, who no longer pays attention to her, she looks back at her tabletop.  
"Okay! Which one of you has nicked my piece of chocolate cake?" she asks quietly enough that the waitress doesn't hear her, but loud enough that the other three, who are sitting not even within a radius of one meter next to and behind her, can hear her.  
Without one of the others raising his head, one of the men says: "That's what you get for being late Rey Rey!"  
Poe Dameron. He's a real chameleon. At a prestigious acting school, he learned to slip into various roles and imitate everyone convincingly.  
Although he slips into strange roles with his masks again and again, he is a pleasant fellow, without any airs and graces, and looks very attractive with his dark complexion and full dark brown curls.

"If you want, I'll give you a piece of my cake, peanut!"  
Finn Storm. Art and history expert and Ray's best friend.  
Now and then the dark-skinned man seems a little insecure, especially around pretty women. But when it comes right down to it, he's always there for you.

"Are you crazy? Don't be an idiot!"  
Rose Tico. An absolute technical prodigy. There's no system she can't hack into, no firewall she can't blow up.  
The pretty Asian girl may look clueless, but with a computer with internet access she's not to be underestimated.

The next moment the waitress comes and brings her coffee and cake.  
After Rey has thanked her, she goes behind the counter and disappears behind the kitchen door.

"Did everything work out?" Poe asks.  
"It went like clockwork... like you said, the investigating officers are Detective Jyn Erso and Detective Cassian Andor." Replies Rey.  
"They are very good investigators, but they do not have the expertise to solve a breach like this." Rose is proud.  
"I'll see tomorrow when they question me." Says Finn with slight resentment in his voice.  
"And has the package been sent?" Poe asks Rey.  
"Yes, it will arrive in a week as scheduled?"  
"Good! When can you throw yourself at him?" he asks further.  
"Rose?" she asks.  
"Every day of the week he sits down at 4:10 sharp for a little snack in the bar... and you can set your watch by that!"  
"On Monday, then!" Poe utters in a brooding tone.  
"Until next Friday, let's try to avoid running into each other." he now commands.

"Peanut! What name did you post the package under?" asks Finn with a slight mischief in his voice.  
"W-What? What does it matter now?" asks Rey with a certain blush on her face.  
"He asks because you always use some stupid movie name... like Ilsa Lund..." Poe begins.  
"...or Marion Crane..." expands Rose.  
"Or, as recently, Clarice Starling! Finishes Finn.  
Rey purses her lips and tries to ignore her blushing cheeks.  
"As it happens, Casablanca, Psycho and Silence of the Lambs are three very good movies." she says defensively.

"You can't come up with a stupid alias like that every time!" Poe, still mildly amused, says.  
"I can't even use my real name."  
"What have you taken this time?" asks Finn again.  
"I bet she was showing off Sarah Conor!" says Rose.  
"I'll go with you there! I say it's Elizabeth Bennet!" That was Poe.  
"Here I go! 20 bucks!? And I say Holly Golightly." That's from Finn.  
"You guys are dumb. All three of you!" says Rey pouting.  
"You love us sweethearts for that." replies Rose.

Rey can't help smiling and has to admit that she is absolutely right.  
She loves these three. They are her siblings, her best friends and the only family she has ever had. With no one else would she travel the world and steal valuable artwork!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello my dear!

Here I am again.  
You'll have a new chapter every day.

PS. When I 'described' the museum, I thought of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the old painting gallery in Berlin. The latter is one of my favourite places.

Greetings, your Lori ❤️


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben finds a suspicious person on the video tapes and by a happy coincidence finds out what her name is... But... did she really have something to do with the robbery?

Saturday 4:15 pm.

Ben Solo

To loosen his tense neck muscles, he moves his head from side to side. With a crack he registers that he is suffering from terrible tension.  
Since Friday night Ben has been watching the surveillance tapes of the exhibition space and has not slept a wink since then.  
The two detectives kept him company for three hours and worked their way through the first tapes with him.  
At about three o'clock in the morning, the two said goodbye with the intention of going home briefly, taking a shower and catching up on some sleep.  
Ben stayed. He had one of the museum employees bring him coffee.

Late Saturday morning, Erso and Ando began interviewing the first employees. It was slow and they did not get any new results.  
In the afternoon, the two sat down with him again and had the remaining interviews scheduled for Monday morning.

Ben is now with the records from Wednesday afternoon.  
Even though he is going through it at an increased speed, it is a long and also boring process.  
He observes how new people are always walking from one door to the other, admiring the chain, taking pictures, or asking questions of the security guard who is standing next to him all the time.

Only once did a completely drunk man manage to jump behind the barrier and almost knock over the pedestal on which the glass display case stands.  
Ben had read the reports about this very carefully.  
The man had identified himself as Walter Dyle. A simple tourist, who had separated from his wife shortly before and had drunk one too many over thirst.  
All he had to do was give his name and his next address and he was banned from the museum.  
The detectives decided to track down this man later.

Ben had almost given up hope until...  
"Stop the tape immediately!" he ordered the technician, who has been sitting in the room with him again since the morning.  
He almost fell asleep, got a short fright and then finally stopped.  
"Back up a little more... right there! And stop again!"  
Jyn and Cassian are leaning front of and staring at the screen.  
It shows about seven people.  
The Watchman, three young girls, obviously schoolgirls, a young couple holding hands and a young woman in an elegant sheath dress.  
Ben looks at them closely and suddenly has the feeling that he has seen her somewhere before.

"What exactly are we supposed to see? Do you think the girls have gone for it and stolen the necklace? Do they share, so that everyone gets the pleasure of wearing the beautiful piece?" Jyn mocks irritatedly.  
"Corazon! Look, of course he means the couple in love, it's always more inconspicuous to go in pairs."  
"No, they are both wrong! Let it run at normal speed!" he orders the technician.

They watch intently as the six suspects enter the room one after the other.  
After a short time it becomes clear that the young woman is behaving in the most conspicuous way.  
"What is she doing?" Jyn asks.  
"She's not even looking at the jewelry!"  
"She scans the surroundings!" Ben almost hisses through clenched teeth.

"Do you recognize the woman? She's a pretty Seňorita!"  
Ben is still thinking. Somehow she looks familiar to him, when he already wants to give up, he notices the coat in her arm. A light-colored fabric.  
The young woman in front of the museum last night!  
"Damn. **HUX!** " he shouts angrily.  
The red-haired man joins in immediately, since his office is right next door.  
"What? Do they already have a suspect?" he asks excitedly.  
"Do you know this woman?" Ben asks without beating about the bush.  
Hux denies and Ben wants to be taken immediately to all the employees who were on duty at the entrance that day.

The saleswoman cannot remember the young woman.  
When the security man arrives, Hux immediately starts waving the picture in his face.  
"Have you seen this woman? What did she want? Did she ask you any questions? Did you see her again afterwards?"  
The man seems completely overwhelmed and mumbles embarrassed: "No hablo ingles muy bien!  
Hux is almost out of his skin, but is pushed to the side by Cassian.

"Perdón Seňor! El hombre rojo solo teme que le quiten su trabajo. Se indulgente!"  
(Excuse me sir! The red man is only afraid that his job will be taken away from him. Be indulgent!)  
The man laughs briefly and listens to Cassian now.  
"Cómo el Ilamas amigo?`"  
(What is your name buddy?)  
"Hector! Sir!" he answers briefly.  
"Hector! Viste a esta bella dama el pasado miércoles par la tarde?"  
(Hector! Did you see this pretty lady last Wednesday afternoon?)

The security guard looks closely at the black and white picture that has just been printed.  
After a short time his face brightens up.  
"Yes sir! She was here last Wednesday! I checked her bag." Reported the man in a strong Spanish accent.  
"Can you remember anything else about her, Hector?" Ben asks.  
"Well... she had a nice way of speaking, I think she's a tourist."  
"Can you think of anything else? For example what was in her bag?" Jyn now asks very directly.  
"I'm not sure, but I know in which hotel she probably stayed..."

Everyone looks at him questioningly.  
"I am sure I saw the room key in her bag. I know it for sure, sir, because my cousin Pepe works there!"  
Ben steps closer and immediately intimidates the guard by his sheer size.  
"What hotel?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Saturday 6:17 pm

Ben Solo

In the elevator of Resistance Insurance classical music is playing... probably a sonata by Bach or something.  
The manager's office is on the top floor.  
At the top, Ben walks through the hallway, directly to the assistant's workplace.  
Conix has already finished work and her desk is already in place.

"Come in!" sounds behind the large door before he can knock.  
Of course she is already expecting him.  
Leia Organa Solo's office is large but simply furnished. If she could afford even the finest office furniture or hang the most exquisite paintings on the walls, her office contains only her desk, her office chair and a trash can as well as a framed painting of her late mother.  
Han Solo has had the comfortable leather couch on the side placed in his wife's office. He sits there most of the time, in an open position and always with something to read in his hand.  
Today he reads on his I-pad, looks up at him through his glasses and nods briefly at Ben as he walks past him to the desk.

"Do you have any leads yet?" Leia asks without beating about the bush.  
"There might be a lead. A young tourist who has been acting strangely. We happen to know which hotel she stayed in. I put Mitaka on it. I've agreed with the two detectives to continue their investigation at the museum and I'll find the woman."  
"Very well!" Leia doesn't look up from her work when she talks.

"I don't have proof yet, but the theft resembles Sweden."  
Now he has her attention. She too only looks at him through her glasses until she puts them aside and looks at him more closely.  
"Are you sure?" she asks interested.  
"Everything points to it."  
Leia ponders for a moment and looks briefly at Han, who just shrugs his shoulders, and then a longer moment at the picture of her mother.  
"If it should be this thief, you know what to do..."  
"Yes, I know what i have to do." He says and can only with difficulty hold back a slight yawn.

"You look tired. When was the last time you slept?"  
"I don't know. Yesterday sometime."  
"You should get some rest."  
"She's right, kid." Han says from the side.  
Ben can only smile at his childhood nickname.  
"Okay. If nothing comes up by tomorrow, I'll take over from Mitaka in the morning..."  
"In the afternoon!" his mother corrects him.  
Ben looks at her questioningly.  
"You will, of course, have lunch with us tomorrow!" she orders.  
"But of course, Mother." He answers with a slight crooked smile.  
"Now go and sleep it off! I expect you tomorrow at 12 o'clock sharp! Freshly showered and shaved!"  
"Yes ma'am!" he replies and leaves the office. 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Sunday 4:33 pm

Ben Solo

Grand Varykino. Pretty nice place. Ben enters the lobby of the hotel and is immediately stormed by Mitaka. The always nervous employee tells him stutteringly that he could not see the young woman.  
Just when Ben wants to tell him that he can call it a day, he sees her.  
In her beige wool coat she runs right past him. For a short moment her eyes meet and it seems as if the world would stop for a second.

Ben can barely keep himself from staring at her much too conspicuously.  
He quickly instructs Mitaka to go to the reception desk to find out the name and room number of the woman and hurries after her.  
Arriving at the entrance he can watch her turning a corner.  
He follows her unobtrusively and reaches a movie theater shortly after her.

At the box office, he places two people behind her.  
Finally, it is his turn to ask the cashier: "What movie has the young woman in the light coat chosen for?"  
The cashier looks briefly at her ad. "She is watching an animal lovers special screening of A Dog’s Way Home.  
"Well, then please give me a ticket for the performance and... could you play Cupid and seat me right next to her, Miss?" he asks.  
She looks at him with a wink.  
"She is really very sweet!" he confesses and gives her a quick wink.  
The cashier blushes briefly, types something into her cash register and hands him his movie ticket, smiling.

So far everything is going as planned.  
Ben has to think for a moment... when was the last time he went to the cinema? And why does she go alone to this performance? Is she meeting someone here? With whom?  
Without thinking about it he goes into the auditorium.

There it is already dark and the commercial is already on.  
The illuminated signs on the floor help him find his way to his reserved seat.  
On the right side, up the steps, are the long rows of seats leading to the center of the hall. And on the left side are the short rows, each with only two seats.  
And his seat is on the left side, right next to the mysterious woman sitting directly against the wall and looking up only briefly as he sits down next to her.  
At this moment it occurs to Ben that she can hardly meet anyone else like that. In the rows in front of them, there is no one sitting just behind him a couple, from whom the man is staring at him sinisterly.

Thoughtfully, Ben looks at the huge screen, which is currently showing a stupid commercial, in which a women's scent is advertised in a completely incomprehensible way.  
Only a quiet clearing his throat pulls him out of his reflections. He is almost startled when her big eyes look directly at him.  
They seem to glow in the dim light and Ben holds his breath for a moment.

"Would you perhaps like to change places with me? I don't think the guy behind you likes you very much!"  
Her voice is pleasant and she speaks in a charming British accent.  
But with Ben everything has stopped for the moment. These big hazelnut eyes captivate him.

"Hello?!" she asks insecurely.  
Ben wakes up again and looks behind him again, where the man still stares at him grudgingly. He really hasn't been to the cinema for a long time.   
Even in the past he always had to take care not to have anyone sitting behind him if he didn't want to ruin anyone's view.

He looks at those big eyes again and finds his language again.  
"Yes, I'd love to."  
He gets up and steps into the aisle. She follows him, only with her coat and a small drink in her hand, which must be Coce Zero. The corresponding knob has been pressed in.  
As soon as he passes her, her smell hits him in the nose. Something flowery, mild.  
He can't quite make it out as he sits down, but he decides that he has never smelled anything more beautiful.

He has to shake his head briefly to be able to think clearly again.  
What is wrong with him?   
She might be a thief and he knows exactly how important it is to get this necklace back.  
Silently, he looks at the canvas and continues to keep it in view.  
She does not seem to make contact with the couple behind her.  
Could it be that she is really just watching the film?

After almost 1 ½ hours, the film seems to have finally come to an end.  
The badly injured bitch runs towards its owner, whom she has been looking for for over a year.  
Apart from the miserable CGI-animations, the film was on a strong emotional track. And very quietly he hears a discreet sniffing next to him.

The woman cries.  
Ben suddenly has to suppress the urge to put his arm over her shoulder and comfort her. What is wrong with him? He is a professional and has never behaved like this before.  
She is cute, yes!   
And he likes her petite stature, yes!   
And in her eyes he could drown, yes!   
Her voice also has a pleasant effect on him, yes!   
But all this will not prevent that, if she is the thief, he will take back this necklace and, if necessary, have her put in prison.  
Perhaps, once he has it, he should give her name to Erso and Andor.

Without really knowing what he is doing, he takes an unused handkerchief from his jacket pocket and hands it to her wordlessly.  
Astonished, she looks at him and for what feels like an eternity they stare at each other.  
Their moist eyes shimmer in the light of the projection and Ben unconsciously holds his breath again. Is she doing it too? He is too captivated by her eyes and cannot concentrate on anything else.

But the obtrusive smacking sound behind them destroys the magic.  
Both of them flinch briefly behind and rush forward again with their heads. The couple has used the film's maudlin ending for a neat smooching.

_Oh God...! Now this is not embarrassing at all._

With a muffled voice she mumbles a "Thank you!" and looks straight ahead again while she wipes her eyes dry.  
Then he watches her nibbling the short rest of the film on her thumbnail. She doesn't seem to bite off anything, but gnashes her teeth lightly on it.  
 _A nervous tick?  
Kind of cute!_

As soon as the credits roll, she gets up and leaves the room quickly.  
Ben has to hurry to follow her. Outside the cinema he can finally catch her.

"Wait!" he shouts to her.  
She turns around in surprise.  
He remains silent for a moment and is amazed by her face. In the light of the billboard he can see more of her. Her chestnut brown hair has a slight reddish tinge and her lips are covered with a softly rosy cloth.

"That was a beautiful film." He simply states.  
She raises only one eyebrow and replies with a slightly longer "Yyeees."  
"By the way, my name is Ben... Ben Solo!"  
A slight smile creeps up on her lips.   
She replies with a short "Nice!", turns around and walks away without another word.

Ben looks after her with big eyes.  
Unable to remember the last time he was turned down by a woman, he has to start grinning.

As he pulls his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, he realizes that he has received two messages from Mitaka.

>Have learned the name of the woman.  
>Had to bribe the receptionist.  
>Her name is Rey Niima... >Yes, Rey with 'e' !  
> She's in room 223.  
>After some research, here's what we found out:  
>Name: Rey Niima  
>Age: 24  
>Origin: probably London?  
>Next relatives: unknown  
>Momentary residence: unknown / has given wrong address at the entry  
>Profession: probably tourism journalist

Too much 'probable' and 'unknown' for his taste.  
This woman is a secret on two nice long legs! And she is a full 10 years younger than him.  
The second message is short.

>Do you want us to give this information to the police ?

Ben looks up from his cell phone to the corner where Miss Niima has just turned.  
Does he want the police to know about her already?  
He types in an answer and sends it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear people.
> 
> Many thanks to the diligent readers and comment writers.
> 
> I would like to suggest a little 'game' for this chapter... The name of the drunk museum visitor... Walter Dyle... Appears more often in this Story. Who can tell me what this name is all about? If someone comes up with it, write it in the comments. I'm curious to see how many of you know all about it...
> 
> And yes... i love the film 'A Dog’s Way Home'.
> 
> Have a nice Thursday to you all,
> 
> wish your Lori ❤️


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben follows Rey, but is discovered... how will Rey react?

Monday 3:13 pm

Ben Solo

All sleepless night Ben had to think about the girl.  
Rey Niima.  
He just can't get her out of his mind. And not just because she turned him down.  
Something about her fascinates him. And he would be lying if it wasn't for her enchanting eyes, just like her lovely mouth, which had curled up into that perfect little smile before she turned him away with the simple word 'Nice'!

But even that should not be the reason for his excessive interest! She might be a thief and if he is right with his suspicion, he will put her in jail...?!

An RI employee was shadowing Miss Niima all morning as soon as she left her room.  
She went to the hotel gym, ran on the treadmill for some time. Attended a yoga class and then spent half an hour in the sauna before she had something for lunch brought to her room... turkey sandwich.

Ben has just relieved his colleague and is now sitting in his car across the street in front of the hotel, waiting.  
"The little one still looks very young." Han Solo mentions, looking at her photo in a file.  
His father had asked him to join the observation.  
His mother had insisted and Ben was only right. The presence of his father would probably keep him from doing anything stupid. Because apparently Little Miss Niima triggers something in him that he can hardly control.

At exactly 03:40 pm she leaves the hotel lobby. She is wearing her beige wool coat again, which reaches just above her knees, and a black bag in vintage style.  
Despite her young age, she knows how to dress elegantly. And under her coat there is certainly another lovely and tight-fitting dress that shows off all her sparse curves to best advantage.

Without a word, the two of them get out and follow her unnoticed.  
The men hold each other back again and again and all of a sudden Ben regrets having his father with him. Again and again one of them says that the other one is too fast and that she, would notice them immediately.  
Even though he is very fond of his father, this has always been his curse... they just can't work well together.

She stops at a red pedestrian light and the men are less than 10 meters away from her when a bus with low reflecting windows passes her.  
For a short moment their eyes meet in the glass and then the bus passes by.

"So now she has seen us." says Han as she crosses the street.  
On the other side of the street she enters a bar and the men follow her for a moment.  
Ben can barely make out that she disappears into the back of the bar.  
He nods to his father and goes to the bar himself.  
He sits down on one of the bar stools and keeps an eye on his father, who is apparently going to the toilets.  
He briefly opens the door to the men's toilets, looks around briefly and turns around again when the other door opens and a strange woman comes out.

When the bartender addresses him, he turns to her and gives her his attention.  
"What can I get you, sir?" asks the dark-haired young woman in a polite voice.  
"Uh, two whiskeys, please... bourbon... no ice please!"   
"Yes, sir."  
His father sits down on the right.   
"I ordered us two bourbons." he tells me simply.  
"A little early, but okay... ...it's time for a drink somewhere...! The toilet windows are barred and she seems to be typing a message into her cell phone." Han says business-like before the drinks arrive.

Next to his father, another woman stands at the counter.  
"I would like a martini!"  
"Gladly...!" the bartender replies politely as usual.  
"Oh! Dry please and with ice instead of olives!" the woman adds.  
After a short time the young woman puts the desired drink on the counter.

The next moment Miss Rey Niima sits down on the left side of Ben. When the waitress asks what she wants, she replies with her enchanting accent: "A martini please!"  
Ben has to pull himself together to breathe properly. The sound of her voice is like liquid honey.  
She has taken off her coat and is actually wearing an intoxicating light pink dress.

"Excuse me! Didn't we meet yesterday?" he asks before he can stop himself.  
His father next to him almost chokes on his drink.  
Miss Niima turns to him slightly startled and again his breath stops. In daylight and up close he can see even more subtleties in her face.

She wears almost no make-up and a pale trace of freckles appears on the bridge of her nose. Her eyes have a warm brown tone and such an intense depth that he could drown in it.

"Oh...! That's right. Right in the cinema? Mister... uh?"  
"Solo! Ben Solo." He replies.  
The quiet clearing his throat behind him reminds him again of his father's presence.  
"And that's..." he starts and points behind him. "...my father. Han Solo!" he introduces him.  
"I am glad! Miss... Ehh?"  
"Niima." she introduce her self and offer his father a beautiful smile, presenting a row of perfect white teeth.  
 _God. This woman is simply gorgeous._ Ben thinks.  
And then comes the next basket. She smiles at Ben for a moment... and then turns around again.

When her drink comes in the next moment he is just too shocked to say anything, let alone listen to his father's quiet giggles.  
"Here Miss! A Sweet Martini with two olives." Presents the bartender.

Nothing like this has ever happened to him before. Two rejections in a row and by the same woman.  
Without paying any further attention to him, she sips her martini.  
In short, he thinks he can hear his father murmuring something like "...great little girl!" next to him as he brings his glass to his mouth.

A light breeze directs his attention to the entrance. He almost swallows his own drink as the red head of the museum director Armitage Hux approaches her.  
Arriving at the bar, he sits down in the only free seat ..., right next to Miss Niima.

"The same as always, sir?" asks the bartender.  
"Uh, yes, thank you." he replies, looking at the young woman who disappears into the kitchen behind the bar.

_A creature of habit... just great!_ Ben thinks to himself.   
_He makes himself the perfect victim._

Ben can't quite make out what happens next. But he hears a glass cracking, a "Oops!" from Hux and a shrill "Oh no!" from Miss Niima.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy! Now the whole martini's on your pants!" she moans.

Ben suspects that this was never a clumsy accident.  
She asks the waitress for napkins and Ben and his father can watch amusedly as she tries to dry the wet stain in his crotch with the small towels by dabbing this delicate spot again and again.  
Hux's face color is more and more matching the tone of his hair color, while he desperately tries to push away the small hands of the lovely woman.

Finally he manages and can dry his pants himself.  
"I can only apologize." she says guiltily.  
"That's alright! May I replace your drink, Miss...?"  
"Niima! Rey Niima." She introduces herself and gives him a friendly shake.  
Hux is immediately captured by her smile. And even though she seems to have this effect on many men, Ben feels a certain amount of jealousy.  
She immediately told the redhead her full name... but not him!

"That's really very nice and I'm happy to accept it but... wouldn't I have to buy you a drink, Mister...?" she warbles.  
"Armitage Hux, Miss Niima!"  
"Why don't you call me Rey!" she suggests, and an envious yellow monster begins to rage in Ben's chest.  
Hux asks the bartender to bring a new drink and the next moment a phone rings.

Miss Niima takes it out of her little retro bag and wipes to the side to answer it.  
"Niima?" a pause is created in which the person on the other end speaks.  
"Oh! Yes, sir, I was wondering when you were going to call."  
Another pause.   
"I'll be on my way immediately, sir."  
During the next pause, Ben thinks he notices that she is biting her lower lip very lightly.  
"Yes sir! As far as I know the rose garden doesn't open for about an hour but I'll definitely take this one with me today. Well, I'll see you then!" and she ends the conversation.

After putting the phone back, she turns to Hux and looks at him with an apologetic expression.  
"I am so sorry Armitage! But I'm afraid I have a meeting to go to."  
She puts a bank bill on the counter and packs her things.  
"Well, if you must." He replies reserved.  
"Maybe I'll see you again sometime." She says goodbye with a bright smile.

Ben just can't resist.   
"Yeah, maybe we'll see you around Miss Niima sometime!" he interferes.  
She turns around with a frightened expression, but the next moment her features relax and she gives him and his father such an enchanting smile that his heart stops beating for a few beats.  
"Goodbye Mr. Solo, Mr. Solo!"

As soon as she leaves the bar, Hux finally wakes up.   
"Mr. Solo!?" he realizes in shock.  
"Mr. Hux!" Ben raises his glass in greeting.

"So what now?" asks his father, who still stares outside and watches Miss Niima call a cab and get in.  
"Do you want to pursue her further?" he asks with a slight rush.  
But Ben remains calm and fishes his own cell phone from his jacket pocket.  
"No. But it's about time the police had a talk with Miss Niima." He says in a lowered voice.

The men are still calmly finishing their whiskies and watching as the waitress brings Hux his salad and a large glass of soda water.  
Ben can't stand creatures of habit. They are so... vulnerable.

He only notices in passing that the enchanting Miss Niima hasn't left such a lasting impression (except on his pants) as he first thought, because Hux is having a lively conversation with the dark-haired bartender.

When the dark-haired bartender, half an hour after Miss Niima's disappearance, signs out to her colleague because she still has an appointment, Hux speaks to her directly.   
"I'm sorry, but... maybe I'll see you again?"  
The young woman looks at him with big eyes and replies with a shy smile on her lips: "I'm on shift again tomorrow, so I'll see you again tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., Mr. Hux."  
"Fine... Uh, what's your name?" he asks hastily.  
"Rose." She answers in a lovely voice.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

5:01 pm

Rey Niima

Rey stands in the stairwell of a run-down apartment building in front of the door to the third floor hallway, leaning against the wall and watching Rose approach her.  
With a slight puff, she climbs the last step of the stairs.

"Have you been waiting long?" she asks Rey.  
"Yes, but I didn't want to go in without you." She confesses and holds the door to the hall open for her.

"What was so urgent that I had to leave early?"  
"Well, I don't know exactly. I met this Ben Solo yesterday at the cinema and because he looked so familiar, I asked Poe to take a closer look at him. When I noticed him following me outside the bar today, I had text him saying that things were getting more urgent. And shortly afterwards he called and wanted me to come to the apartment as soon as possible and inform you as well." She explains.

"Wait, this Ben Solo is the big guy, isn't he?" Rose asks interested.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"No reason." she replies with a mischievous smile.

"Okay..." Rey starts.  
"You wanna bet? For an ice cream. I say his second sentence is a _Were you followed?_ "  
"I go along with that, I say that's right his first sentence."  
"Deal!" hits Rey as they stand outside the right door and knock.  
"Come in!" calls Finn from the other side.

The apartment is as shabby as the rest of the house.  
All windows are darkened and the only light sources are isolated floor lamps. In the middle of the room is a large table on which utensils for making masks are distributed.  
At the back Finn and Poe sit in front of a laptop.

"There you are at last! Have you been followed?" Poe asks in his usual irritated tone.  
"Yes! Won! "says Rey loudly and sits down opposite Finn.  
"Do I want to know?" Finn asks Rose.  
"She just won an ice cream and is a lousy winner." answers Rose with a pout and sits down next to him.

"So, what's wrong with you?" Rey asks as a distraction.  
"A problem." Poe simply says and moves the laptop over to the girls.   
"This is the guy! Ben Solo. He was following me today." Rey says affirmatively as she points to the picture in front of her.  
"That's the problem. Look where this guy works!" he says and points to his resume under the picture.

"Resistance Insurance." mumbles Rose to himself.  
"He works for an insurance company?" Rey asks.  
"Yes, he's an insurance investigator... and from what I've heard, a pretty good one. And this firm RI... they work a lot in our business. And if you say he's following you..."  
"...he's already on to us." Rey closes his sentence and puts her hand over her mouth.

"Oh this can't be true! How did he get onto Rey?" Rose asks desperately.  
"As far as I heard in the museum, he was watching the surveillance tapes from Friday night to Saturday afternoon without a break." Finn announces.  
"You have to give him credit for one thing, he is persistent." admires Rey.

"Have you been questioned by the police yet?" Poe asks Finn.  
"No! My interrogation is tonight."  
"When will the package arrive?" he asks Rey.  
"It will arrive on Friday morning." she explains.  
"And there we have the next problem!" says Rose.  
"This Solo has seen Rey with Hux. He will suspect something if..."

"And what if Rey hooks up with Solo to find out how far he has progressed with his investigation?" Finn asks in the round.  
Rey, who had been staring at Ben Solo's staff picture the whole time, now looks up.  
"The idea is not a bad one, but how am I supposed to keep working on Hux if I have to sound out this Solo on the side?"  
"Yeah, that's another problem." Poe says thoughtfully.

"I could take care of Hux after all."  
Everyone stares at Rose, who's blushing under the three pairs of eyes.

"He seems to like me and has been inquiring if he will see me again tomorrow ... and he's kind of cute."  
"That figures!" says Poe.  
"Meanwhile, I'm hanging on to this Mr. Solo. He's pretty handsome, too, he's tall, has nice eyes, a sweet mouth..." she raves as she watches his vita on the laptop.  
"Shall we leave you alone with his picture?" Poe asks dryly and the other two have to start giggling.

Rey only stretches her tongue in his direction, insulted, but can't keep her gaze away from the picture for very long.  
She has to admit that she really finds him very attractive. She already noticed that in the cinema. She was impressed by his sheer size and the scent that wafted towards her when they changed seats. Somehow pleasantly earthy, like freshly fallen rain, with a slight soap note.

She had enjoyed seeing the slight shock on his face when she rebuffed him ... yesterday and today.  
If she didn't know any better, she would have to admit that she has a crush on Ben Solo.  
But that's exactly what she can't afford! Even though she loves to look at his beautiful chocolate eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a nice weekend, your Lori ❤️


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has to face an annoying interrogation and we learn that ornithology is not entomology... and this in turn is not lepidopterology ...😅🤣

Tuesday 11:22 am

Rey Niima

After her daily round on the treadmill, Rey makes her way to the city to visit some sights. Even if it is just a cover, she can claim that she has visited all the better known tourist traps in every city she has been to.  
She even visited the world's largest wool yarn in a city in the midwest. You don't have to say more about it.

Before she can leave the lobby, two people get in her way.  
Rey recognizes her immediately, but turns herself in ignorantly.  
"Excuse me?"  
"Detective Erso, this is my partner Detective Andor. Miss Rey Niima?!"  
"Yes?!"  
"Would you please come down to the station for a few questions?"  
Rey is puzzled, but agrees.

"Why the umbrella, Miss?" asks Detective Andor, pointing to the umbrella in her hand.  
Rey raises an eyebrow and has to pinch many other comments.  
"Because it is going to rain today!"  
"But it is the most wonderful sunshine!"  
"When you are done with the weather forecast, we can go, can't we?" his partner asks irritated.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Tuesday 2:43 pm

Jyn Erso

Miss Rey Niima has now been sitting in the interrogation room for well over two hours waiting for the two detectives.  
Ben Solo had sent them a file the previous day with information about this woman. His company had not been able to find out much about her. (The police even less.) But he had hinted at cross-references to other thefts in Europe.  
They could not prove anything against her and they would not be able to do more than check her alibi for the evening of the theft.  
To be honest, Jyn does not share Ben Solo's suspicions. For him she is just a harmless tourist. But even she can be wrong sometimes.

"She looks nervous!" remarks Cassian.  
Jyn does not really think so. At most a bit annoyed, which is no wonder since, as mentioned, she has been waiting for over two hours.  
"No!" hairs Ben Solo, who watches her with the two detectives behind the mirrored partition.  
"If she was nervous, she would nibble her thumbnail." he says simply.  
"We're going in now!" commands Jyn.

"Oh man! I can't stand that guy at all!" Cassian grumbles on his way into the interrogation room.  
"You don't have to!" his partner simply answers as she opens the door.

"How nice that you've honored me after all! I thought you had forgotten me." Rey exclaims angrily.  
"Sorry that you had to wait so long, we still had to verify some of your data." says Cassian supposedly friendly.  
"It was not easy for us, there are many dark spots in your resume Miss Niima!  
"Am I here because you want to offer me a job or why are you so interested in my resume?"

"Do you know this man?"   
Jyn comes straight to the point and puts the picture from a surveillance camera on the table. It shows a dark-haired man with a big bulbous nose.  
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, I've never met this man before."  
She replies after looking at the picture for a while.

"What do you know about the blue butterfly?" Jyn asks further.  
"The what? Butterfly? I am very sorry! I'm not very familiar with ornithology."   
"What you mean is entomology! And it's not about a real butterfly. But you already know that, don't you, Miss Niima?" Jyn continues to ask very directly.

"I'm confused... about what..."  
"The blue butterfly is an invaluable necklace." says Jyn louder and slams a picture of the jewelry on the table.  
Rey looks at it closely and then looks up at the detectives again.  
"This is embarrassing now, but I know even less about jewelry. I don't even wear any." she says and raises her empty hands and wrists as if to prove it.  
"But every woman likes to wear beautiful jewelry... why not?" Cassian asks in a charming voice.  
Rey leans forward to him with a tear and answers with an equally charming voice: "Because no one has ever given me beautiful jewelry before."  
"What a shame!" Cassian winks at her.  
Jyn can only roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Miss Niima! Were you at Chandrila Museum last Wednesday afternoon?"  
Rey pretends to think for a moment.  
"Well... yes. Was that last Wednesday?"  
"Then this is you..., at the jewelry exhibit?" asks the detective and pulls out another shot from the security camera.  
Rey looks at the picture again for a moment  
"Yes, I am."  
"What were you doing there?" Jyn asks further.  
"What do you think I would have done in a museum? I looked at the exhibitions, of course. Why do you ask that?"  
"What were you looking for in that room?" she asks quickly.  
"For more exhibits!" Rey answers just as quickly.  
"Then why were you looking at the top wall?"  
"Since when do they put pictures on the floor? I looked around for photographs or something similar."

Miss Niima's sassy way of answering would unsettle any less experienced investigator. But not Jyn Erso.

"Where were you last Friday night, Miss Niima?"  
"Friday night? Can you be more specific? Am I suspected of a crime?"  
"Friday night between 6 and 8."   
Jyn will answer only the first question.  
"That's a bit more precise... Let me think! Until about 06:30 I had dinner in a restaurant, the Hosnian-Garden. And at 7:00 pm the show started." she reports.

"What show, Miss Niima?"  
"A cinema show. I went to see a movie."  
"What kind of movie?"  
"It was a horror movie. The Conjuring."  
"How long was the movie?"  
"I left the cinema at about 10:30 pm."  
"3 ½ h after the movie started? As far as I know, a normal movie does not run longer than 2 h."  
"This one did, but I talked to one of the employees."  
"About what?"  
"What do you talk about with an employee in a movie theater? About the next presidential election? We talked about movies, of course. Will you finally tell me what I'm accused of?!" Rey is very irritable again.

"Something was stolen from the jewelry exhibit at the museum Friday night."  
"Oh no! Not the Boleyn necklace?" Rey asks startled.  
"No. It has already arrived back in London. What was stolen is the blue butterfly, Miss Niima," Cassian replies in between.  
"Uh-huh," Rey simply answers.

"Is that all you want to say about this?" Jyn asks now clearly annoyed.  
"Yes. I wouldn't know what else to say about it. I have never seen this necklace before. And they must have asked me for an alibi for Friday night for a reason."  
"Did they go to the movies with anyone?" Cassian asks.  
"No. I was alone."  
"You went to see a horror movie all by yourself?" he asks, as if it were impossible for a woman to watch a horror movie without male protection.

Rey leans further forward and purses her lips a little.  
"Yes, because I'm already a big girl and can take care of myself, Detetkiv." she whispers in an incredibly cute voice that could bring any man to his knees.

Cassian seems to freeze in his movement and only looks at Miss Niima with big eyes.  
Jyn kicks him under the table and he wakes up again.  
The interviewee leans back with a satisfied smile.  
"Do you have any proof that you were at the movie theater at the time in question?" asks Detective Erso, all businesslike again.  
"Is the movie ticket enough?" she asks with a shrug of the shoulders.

The detective nods and Rey reaches for her bag and digs out a small wallet with a snap lock.

The investigators look up with interest.  
"May I?" asks Jyn cautiously and Rey hands her the small purse without any argument.  
Inside are cinema tickets and sections from several years.  
"You are a passionate cinema-goer." Cassian says with a slight admiration.  
"I have no other hobbies." Rey simply says.

Detective Erso pulls out the first card.  
"A Dog’s Way Home?" she asks incredulously with raised eyebrows.  
"A dog movie. It was an animal lover special on sunday."  
Jyn leaves it at that, pulls out the next card and looks at it closely.  
"Can I keep these for our records?"  
Rey nods approvingly.

"I would like to come back to a gap in your resume." Jyn starts and Rey has to stop an annoyed groan.  
"Who are your next of kin?"  
"That's easy, I don't have them."  
"But everybody has some relatives. What about your parents? Surely you can tell us something about them?" Cassian asks.

Rey closes her eyes briefly and takes a deep breath.  
"My fantastic parents abandoned me at the tender age of four on a playground in London and never came back. Since I grew up in the system, I can unfortunately tell you nothing about my parents or my close relatives".  
Rey kept the same dry tone with every word to suppress any emotion.

Cassian and Jyn both look at her with the same concerned expression.  
"Miss Niima...!" Cassian wants to start, but is interrupted by Rey who raises her hand and talks him into it.  
"Please..., no apologies now! I can't listen to this anymore!"  
The man swallows and looks at the tabletop in shame.

Nothing like this has ever happened to her before. Jyn feels uncomfortable in the presence of a potential suspect for the first time.  
She clears her throat briefly, puts the pictures spread out on the table back into the file and stands up.  
"All right. We just have to verify your statements and then you can leave soon."

When the two detectives want to leave and Jyn has already opened the door, she suddenly pauses.  
"Miss Niima? Pardon me for asking but... do you nibble your thumbnail now and then?"  
Rey, who was leaning back on the chair with folded arms, now looks at her with angry, drawn-up eyebrows.  
"Yes. A nervous tic that I can't take off."  
"I see. Thank you, Miss Niima.  
Without waiting for a reaction, they leave the room and leave Rey alone.

Jyn is even less sure of Miss Niima now. She's sure she has something to do with this. But as long as she can't prove anything to her, she will have to leave the field to Solo and concentrate on the statements of the museum staff.  
Even if she has a strange feeling about the matter... when it concerns Ben Solo and this woman.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Rey Niima

She does not have to think long to know who reported her to the police. It can only have been Ben Solo!  
Especially her last question suggests that. She inevitably has to think back to that evening in the cinema. He had been able to watch her nibbling her thumbnail.  
Most worrying, however, is that he will have observed the entire interrogation from the other side of the one-sided mirror.

After another 45 minutes Rey is finally released.  
On her way out, she can catch a glimpse of an open file on Detective Andor's table as she passes by. You can see the picture from the surveillance camera of the man she was asked about. Above it is the supposed name. Walter Dyle.  
Rey remembers after a short time how she knew the name and a smile appears on her face.

She notices that Ben Solo is following her after only a few steps.  
Actually, she had planned to take a cab to the hotel and snuggle up in a blanket with a cup of chocolate ice cream and a bottle of fake wine to deal with the fact that she was once again reminded of her shitty childhood.  
But no!  
If he wants to take the trouble to follow her... then let him!

Without a break, except for occasional traffic light crossings, Rey walks through the beautiful city of Chandrila. She's been on the road for over an hour and that bastard is still following her.

In a bookshop she manages to escape his gaze for a moment.  
She sees him walking down an aisle between two bookshelves and tries to look for her between the books on the other side of the aisle.  
When he reaches the end of the aisle, she is already waiting for him.  
"You're beginning to get on my nerves, Mr. Solo!"

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Ben Solo

He completely forgot the time while following her. Again and again he has to ask himself whether she might have noticed him and therefore chose this crazy route. But that cannot be!

As he follows her to a larger bookstore, he has to think of the other two bookstores they passed on their way through the city.  
And then he loses her as well. Almost desperately he tries to look between different bookshelves to maybe find her in another aisle than...

"You're really starting to get on my nerves, Mr. Solo.

Ben is starting to feel that he's wearing off... or is it that woman?

At the end of the shelf, she is leaning against a bookcase, her arms crossed, looking at him with a sparkle.  
"Miss Niima!" is all he can bring up right now.

"Will you kindly tell me why you've been following me since Sunday?"  
Ben must smile at the thought of her basket from that evening.  
"I have my reasons."   
She doesn't really seem to like that answer.  
"Who are you and what do you want from me?"  
He ponders for a moment on how to proceed and decides that a frontal attack is the best solution.  
"I am an insurance investigator and have been hired to retrieve the Blue Butterfly."

She moans loudly.  
"That stupid butterfly again! Why can't you hobby entomologists finally accept that I have nothing to do with this?"

"Lepidopterology!" he replies dryly.

"What?"

"Butterfly lore is called lepidopterology." he says with a superior grin and registers with growing amusement how the enchanting Miss Niima has to hold back from a tantrum.

Ben actually considers it harmful that he imagines how it would be to see her really angry but she also looks just too cute.

But she swallows any comment and just looks at him with an angry look.  
"Don't you think you owe me an apology and dinner?"  
"Pardon?" 

Whatever he was expecting ... Did she just say dinner?

"After all, you'r the only reason I spent over 3 hours at the station. And I had to ask stupid questions... and besides I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm really hungry.

It takes a moment for this information to be processed in his head.  
She has her eyes closed and waits for his reaction with folded arms.  
This woman is as unpredictable as the weather in April. She plays the loving, the seductive, the unapproachable, the scratchy and what he likes most ... the unruly kitten.   
A slight grin caresses his lips.  
Ben has to watch out for this woman like hell. But this game appeals to him.

"As luck would have it, I know a charming little place nearby."  
When she is surprised at his counter-attack, she doesn't show it.  
She asks him to leave and together they leave the store.

Let the games begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Well... Here, as promised, the name Walter Dyle was mentioned again. Has anyone figured out what this name is all about?  
> A little hint. The name has something to do with a movie. (Of course... Rey is a huge movie fan in this story)
> 
> I also have a small snap wallet with old cinema tickets.  
> Oh, yeah... So many beautiful memories...
> 
> I would like to thank all my readers and wish you a lot of fun.
> 
> Greet your Lori ❤️


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey get closer...

Tuesday 5:02 pm

Rey Niima

"Are you serious?"  
"What, you said you were hungry."  
"I mean, are they serious about _this? The Mac'n Cheese Palace_?" Rey asks with the same disbelief that her eyes radiate.  
"What do you have against the Mac'n Cheese Palace? Have you been here before?" he asks back with a slight annoyance.  
"Uh...no. But..."  
"There you see! How can you judge something you have never tried before?" he interrupts her, opens the door and pushes her into the restaurant.

"I've never swum with sharks either, and I don't really need to do it again." she mumbles half-loud.  
"You don't know what you're missing!"

A friendly young woman leads them to a table by the window. Outside it is already getting dark and Rey can see thick clouds rising in the sky. It will rain today.

"Hello! My name is Stacy and I will serve you today. What can I get you?" the shrill voice of her waitress interrupts her train of thought and makes her close her eyes in disgust.  
"Two Mac'n Cheese Specials and two Coce Zeero please" orders Ben without any consultation.  
As soon as Stacy (fortunately) runs away with a slick nod of her head, Rey looks at him expectantly questioning.

"Do I look like I should only drink Coke without sugar?" she asks slightly piqued.  
"Would you rather have regular Coke? We can still reorder..." he suggests.  
"No! Zero is ok but how do you know that I drink my coke like this?"  
Now he looks at her with a smug grin that she would love to wipe off his face.  
"Well, you know..., that's the way it is..." his voice takes on an ethereal expression and Rey tightens her eyebrows.  
"I know because the spirits told me... I am psychic, Rey."

She just stares at him in bewilderment for a moment. Is he playing some kind of stupid joke on her?  
As soon as the corners of his mouth start to move up mischievously, Rey can't hold back anymore and has to start laughing.  
"Very funny! Really!" she utters with a giggle.  
"What? You don't believe me? Rey, I have this gift and I can prove it to you."  
"Oh really? Then amaze me!"  
"I would love to amaze you Rey!" again the tone of his voice has changed, it is now silky and somehow... serious.

Unconsciously she holds her breath and is captivated by his chocolate look.  
"I foresee that you will enjoy the food."  
She takes a deep breath again and almost whispers: "We will see!"

To Rey's displeasure, she had to admit to herself that she actually liked the Mac'n Cheese Spezail.  
It is refined with boiled ham, chorizzo and mushrooms and tastes simply fantastic.  
"This is definitely better than any ready-made food." she says enthusiastically between two bites.  
"You have never eaten homemade macaroni with cheese before?" he sounds incredulous.  
"Uh-hum!" she does with her mouth full and shakes her head slightly.  
"Didn't they give you something like this when you were a child in England?"

The question makes Rey freeze in motion. She swallows her bite hard and thinks back.  
No! Maccaroni and cheese never existed. Unkar Plutt, her disgusting guardian never gave her anything like that. When she thinks back, he rarely gave her anything to eat.  
 _"Don't eat so many little one! You won't fit in the narrow passages anymore!"_ he used to say.

She wakes up from her memory again when a big warm hand lays on hers and presses her slightly.  
Rey looks at their hands first and then at him.  
No one says a word and suddenly her heart starts beating like mad.  
She could stare forever into those beautiful smart eyes. His look is so warm and ... understanding? But there's something else... whatever it is, it's making Rey uneasy. She pulls her hand out from under his and looks flushed to the side.

After clearing her throat she finds her voice again.  
"No. The English are more into fish and chips and... kidney pie with mint sauce." she brings out without stuttering.  
"Yiiieell!" he makes disgusted.  
"Right!" she agrees with a little smile.  
"But this..." she points to her plate with the fork. "...tastes really good. Thank you."  
She doesn't look up anymore to meet his astonished look and they continue eating in silence.

When the waitress clears the empty plates, Ben orders two pieces of cheesecake and two cups of coffee without asking.  
"Oh... no! Maybe you have a chocolate cake as well?" Rey asks before she leaves.  
"Yes, Miss. Would you prefer a chocolate cake?" Stacy asks in her terrible voice.  
"Forget the chocolate cake! The young lady takes the cheesecake too!" insists Ben and dismisses Stacy without another word.  
Rey is left with nothing but to inhale in indignation and look at him obstinately.

"But I'd rather have a chocolate cake!" she demands in a childish voice.  
But he only smiles.  
"Trust me Rey! The cheesecake is better here."  
"Pah! Trust you?! You betrayed me to the police... Oh, man! I'll never get my chocolate cake!" she moans her last words.

It's starting to piss Rey off that he's always right. The cheesecake is also delicious. But she wouldn't be Rey if she would just admit that so easily.  
"Yes." she says half apathetic. "It is quite passable. But the chocolate cake would have been better!"  
Ben just smiles at her stubbornness.

Rey has ordered a cab and they decide to wait outside the door.  
When it suddenly starts to rain she opens her umbrella and has to hold her arm very high to protect herself and Ben underneath from the wet drops.

"How did you know it would rain today? The weather forecast said nothing!"  
She just grins and looks at the drops falling to the ground next to the umbrella.  
"Well! This is my special gift. I can smell the rain before it falls."   
As she talks she smiles radiantly and swings her upper body from side to side.  
Ben looks at her with fascination and suddenly grabs her hand holding the umbrella. Rey finally wakes up as he slowly bends down to her. With widened eyes she leans back a little and asks in a surprised voice: "W-What is this going to be?"

Ben seems completely unable to speak at the moment. Neither of them moves, not even when the cab stops next to them.  
"I don't kiss on the first date, Mister Solo." she says with a smile and wants to turn around to the cab. But Ben doesn't let go of her hand yet.

"A friend, owns a gallery and has an exhibition tomorrow. Can I invite you to it Rey? I could take you out to dinner afterwards. Maybe something finer than the Mac'n Cheese Palace?!"  
Rey is silent again. Right now she just wants to drown in his eyes. Until she can think more or less clearly again.

"Italian." She simply says.  
"What?"  
She smiles.  
"I like Italian."  
Ben understands.  
"As luck would have it, there's a nice little Italian place near the gallery... I'll pick you up at 5:00, Rey?"  
Rey nods with a smile, finally turns around to the cab and already opens the door.

"Mister Solo!" she shouts to him as he has already turned around.  
"This was not a date. Just so you know!" she says and bites her lower lip.  
Ben's grin widens as raindrops fall on his head.  
"See you tomorrow Rey!"  
"See you tomorrow Mister Solo!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wednesday 5:30 am

Ben Solo

Ben could not sleep all night. He would look like a wreck later!  
All the time he could hear the rain pattering against his window and mocking him. Because it made him think about her all the time. About Rey!  
This almost magical creature. This adorable girl that took his breath away when she swung her torso from side to side and talked about how she could smell the rain.

An incredibly warm feeling had spread in his chest and made him want to bend forward and kiss her.  
But this cheeky..., intoxicating little creature!  
 _She doesn't kiss on the first date_  
She rejected him again and Ben feels like he's going crazy.

He must find the butterfly! And he must win Miss Niima over!

Moaning he gets up and grabs his cell phone.  
 **"MITAKA!"** he bluffs into his phone.  
The poor man must have just woken up. Ben knows it's unfair to torment the young man like this. But it amuses him to see what a whimpering heap this grown man can turn into.

After giving him a few instructions over the phone, including having Charles prepare the limousine for today and reserve a table at La'Takodana, he just says thank you and hangs up with a grin.

Back in his bed Ben decides to sleep a few more hours... Well. At least he tries.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

5:00 pm

Rey Niima

She reaches the lobby of her hotel on time. But when she steps through the front door, she freezes in motion.   
There is Ben Solo, as always handsome and delicious, standing in front of a stretch limousine.  
Rey is speechless. Is he making fun of her right now?  
But she pulls herself together. She shakes her head briefly and walks towards him with a grasped look.

"I must say, it's a big step from Mac'n Cheese Palace to a stretch limo!"  
His smile gets a little wider.  
"Have a nice day to you too Rey! It's not mine, it's the company I work for."  
"And your boss just gives you the limo?" Rey asks with raised eyebrows.  
"Let's just say that I have a very good relationship with my boss." he says and smiles.

After she gets in, she notices a number of files on one of the rows of seats.  
As soon as he notices them, he grabs them and puts them in a drawer under the seat.  
After it is locked, he sits down next to her.  
 _Did he seriously just leave files about her case lying around open?_

But she can't concentrate on it any further.  
"Chewy! We can go!" he shouts to the driver in the front.  
There is a real hair monster at the wheel, but the eyes that meet her in the rearview mirror have such a warm and friendly expression that she can only smile back.

Gwen's gallery belongs to a charming tall blonde named Gwendolin Phasma.  
It is located in the somewhat remote industrial area of Chandrila and used to be a large warehouse.  
She exhibits a collection of paintings by a very famous artist. Rey knows that the Kenobi collection is highly appreciated by connoisseurs. (Finn once told her that.)  
She herself admires his landscape paintings in pastel shades.  
Ben was close to her all the time, but left her enough space to admire the paintings herself.

After about an hour Phasma leads her outside where Chewy is already waiting for her at the limo. Heaven, Lord God! This bearded giant is even bigger than her companion.  
While Ben is still talking to the gallery owner, Rey is already sitting in the car, with the excuse that she is cold.

Inside, she briefly checks to see if she can be seen from outside and pulls a pin out of her coat. In no time at all she manages to open the locked compartment.  
There are two files. Always with one eye on the open car door, she quickly skims the first file. Not what she hasn't already experienced at the police station. Only a relatively detailed profile about herself and a very empty profile of Walter Dyle. With that name, Rey has to smile again.

In the second file she can find a collection of newspaper and police reports in different languages.  
Reports of thefts from London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Canberra, Cape Town and Tokyo.  
On the cover of the file there is a name that makes Rey raise an eyebrow.  
>> _Rebel!_ <<

She quickly puts everything back, closes the compartment and sits up straight again.  
With a glance out of the car, she can just about see Ben kissing the tall blonde woman on the cheek goodbye. Suddenly, it's as if a sharp needle were poking into her chest.  
Rey absolutely cannot handle the situation and just looks out the window to the side as soon as Ben gets in next to her and closes the car door.

Actually she liked Gwendolin Phasma very much. She had a lively conversation with her about modern European art. But in that moment, when she had said goodbye to Ben in such a familiar way... she hated the tall, good-looking blonde.

But why? She hardly knows Ben Solo at all. She has no claim on him and by the way, he tries to put her in prison as well.  
But he tried to kiss _her_ last night!  
Lost in her thoughts, she unconsciously starts to grind her thumbnail.

"Did you like the show Rey?"  
With his question he pulls her out of her gloomy thoughts and she notices that she likes it when he says her names.  
"Yes, it was very nice."   
She clears her throat and is amazed at the evidence of her own voice.

She continues to stare stubbornly out the window and is glad that the trip is over so quickly when he is about to lean in to her.  
Without another word he gets out and she can collect herself for a moment.  
She takes a deep breath and has to deal with the fact that she might be jealous.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Ben Solo

You have to be a complete idiot not to notice Rey's change of mood. It can't be because of the two files she was _secretly_ looking at when he extended his conversation with Phasma. He had actually hoped to catch her while he was rummaging around, but she was very quick, he admiringly noted.

There was nothing in the files that she did not already know. And she should know that he knows about her other thefts. During the research, it turned out that in every city Miss Niima visited, there was a theft. Mostly private persons or smaller museums were robbed and only now could a connection to her be established.  
The name _Rebel_ had been given to her because she commits her thefts in a very unconventional way and leaves out the traditional ways.

But now she is upset and Ben suspects... or hopes that it is because of Phasma. Which would be very unprofessional... from him... and also from her.

La'Takodana is a nice and distinguished restaurant. At the door you will be welcomed by the manager and led to your table.  
Everything is elegantly furnished, with white tablecloths and cloth napkins that are placed on their laps.  
It is romantic in the highest degree.  
The only thing missing is Ray's smile.

"You know Rey?! I worked with Phasma a lot in Europe and we became good friends." he tries to explain, but the young woman continues to look away angrily.  
"I see. Have you been here with her?" she asks poisonously.

Ben is slowly getting annoyed.  
"Listen! I don't think jealousy suits you at all!"  
"Who's jealous?!" her voice has just gained a few octaves.  
The mischievous grin he throws at her only makes her more angry and she looks away again with her lips pursed.

"Would it help if I told you that Gwen has a thing for women?"  
Surprised, she looks at him again and feels her cheeks getting hot.  
"It would be a pretty lousy move to visit the ex-girlfriend's gallery on a first date. And don't deny it to Rey! This is a date!" he quickly adds the second part to nip her attempt of protest in the bud.

Ben is absolutely enraptured by her reddened cheeks and is only pulled out of his rapture by the waiter.  
"May I bring you something to drink or would you like to look at our wine list?" he asks and hands them the menu.  
"I would like a dry Morellino, if you have any." She says quickly.   
"We have a dry Sangiovese." he suggests.  
"Excellent! I'll have it, please!" she says smiling.  
"Bring a bottle now!" Ben tells him.

As soon as the waiter has left, she leans slightly forward to him.  
"Will you let me choose my own food today, Mister Solo?" she asks in a silky voice.  
Ben has to laugh and is very happy that her mood has improved.

They both order the ossobuco and while she waits for the meal, they talk about Italy and the other European countries they have already been to.  
Ben realizes that they have a lot in common. They both have a very broad taste in music, like old movies and prefer white chocolate. And they would both like to spend a night in a real Scottish spit castle.   
He likes the way her nose sometimes curl and her smiles are like sunshine.  
He especially likes her appetite. She seems to eat all the time and she enjoys every bite. Although her occasional moaning makes him a little uneasy.

For dessert they share a Tiramisu, but sharing is the wrong word here. She inhaled almost the whole piece and he kindly got two bites.  
He is pleased to find that the wine has improved her mood considerably and he gets an idea after he has paid the bill.

"Would you still go to a bar with me? For a small degestive?"  
"Let me guess... there happens to be a great bar nearby?" she asks mockingly.  
"You got it." He says, gets up and takes her with him.

At the exit, he takes her beige coat from the dressing room, straightens her collar for a moment and helps her put it on.  
"That really is a beautiful coat."  
"Thank you! I bought it in Paris."  
"I think it suits you." he says, and holds the door open for her. She passes him with a smile.

_What a beautiful smile._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> I wish you a nice Sunday. 
> 
> Yours, Lori ❤


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey get closer... and closer...

Wednesday 8:23 pm

Ben Solo

The bar is actually very good... and above all very well attended. Luckily they find two free seats at the counter.  
"Hello! What can I get you?" asks a young, very busty woman behind the bar.  
"I'll have a bourbon, no ice, please."  
"And a martini for me, uh, sweet martini with two olives, please." orders Rey.  
Ben looks at the woman for a moment as she starts making the drinks, then the scales fall from his eyes.  
He suddenly looks into the distance and remembers the encounter in the bar when Rey had a martini before. Sweet, with two olives.

"That's very rude Mister Solo."  
"Uh what?" he asks and looks up again.  
"You are staring at the woman's bosom." she says and nods to the side, to the bare-breasted barmaid.  
"Oh! Uh no! I was just somewhere else in my thoughts."  
"Yes, with your nose between her big breasts!" she mumbles mischievously.  
"What? I, uh..." he stammers and looks really briefly at the low neckline of the woman, notices his mistake and quickly looks ahead again. And not without blushing and accidentally catching Reys hidden breasts with his eyes.  
"My eyes are up here, Mister Solo!" she says amusedly and can't stop giggling as he gets even redder and lifts his head with closed eyes and a frustrated groan.  
"Your ears are getting red... that looks cute."

It is not her words that make him stare at her again, but the tone with which she said it. And the smile she gives him ... is sincere and the most beautiful he has ever seen.

Despite all the people in the bar, they can have a good time and one drink quickly turns into two and then Ben has the glorious idea to order tequila.  
The bar woman gives them two shots, a salt shaker and two lime carver.  
"Do you know how to do that?" he asks and points to the ingredients.  
"Now don't get cocky just because I'm a few years younger!"  
"A few years..." he mumbles in a low voice.

"Okay!" He takes the salt shaker, puts something on the back of his hand and she does the same.  
"First lick, swallow and then suck!" he explains anyway.  
She looks at him with a frown, and just as he has licked the salt on the back of his hand and wants to tilt the shot behind him, she says in a way he can understand: "Strange! I thought, you lick, suck and swallow then..."?  
He spits it out again and then has a coughing fit.

Rey giggles cheekily and takes her drink in the right order.  
He stares at her with big eyes as she takes his lime slice, leads it to his mouth and holds it with her index finger until he bites.  
Before she can pull her hand away, he grabs her and takes the carver aside.  
While he fixes her with his gaze, he pulls her hand towards him and licks once over the tip of her index finger.  
Her reaction is overwhelming. Before she pulls her hand away three things happen. She swallows hard, blushes clearly (and cutely) and Ben can clearly see that she is pressing her thighs together.  
_God! Is this woman intoxicating!_

Ben manages to talk her into 5 more rounds of tequila and with every swallow her defenses drop more and more.  
Because of the increasing noise in the bar they have to lean forward to understand each other.  
One of his hands is already resting on her knee and from time to time it moves a little higher.  
He was surprised that she didn't push him away but put one hand around the corresponding arm.

Even if the incredible pun of this woman does not disappear, you can already hear her clearly louder.  
"Maybe I should take you back to your hotel... you don't seem to be able to take any more, Rey." he says right into her ear.  
"Oh come on! One more round, so we can say tomorrow that the last tequila was bad. If we don't drink it now, we won't be able to say that tomorrow." she says in a shaky voice.  
"Her theory is shaky... but good."  
He calls the woman behind the bar, orders another round and, just to be on the safe side, the bill.

As soon as the last round is there and Ben has paid with a big tip, they sprinkle salt on the back of their hands as usual. But instead of licking him herself, she holds out her hand and looks at him with an intense gaze.  
Ben understands and licks the salt off the back of her hand. She does the same and as soon as her tongue touches his skin, it moves like lightning to his groin ... as does his entire blood volume.

After they have finished the tequila and lime, she leans forward and whispers in his ear.  
"Wouldn't we rather go to you?"  
The lascivious look she gives him afterwards makes him hold his breath and almost forget that they are in a public bar and that he cannot take her bent over the next table.  
Fortunately, she takes his hand and pulls him off the bar stool and out of the bar.

The cold night air calls back his senses just enough to catch Rey, who almost stumbles over the curb on her way to the limo.  
Arriving in the car, he gives Chewy the order to bring them to him, closes the cut-off wheel and finally turns to Rey.

His mouth is already on the direct way to hers when she pulls away from him again.  
"Mister Solo! I said no kissing on the first date!" she insists stubbornly.  
He moans loudly.  
"Are you serious? Still?"  
"Yes! I am a woman of my word."  
"You're killing me, kitten." he pushes out and puts his forehead on her shoulder  
Her giggle excites him and slowly he starts to spread tender kisses on her neck.  
She does not fight back and puts her head to the side to allow him free access.  
As soon as her hands are buried in his hair, he pulls her closer to him and puts one hand between her legs.  
She moans very softly and when she takes his earlobe in her mouth and sucks it lightly, everything turns in his head. It is not quite clear to him whether it is the alcohol or this woman in his arms.

They completely block out the outside world.  
Ben is too focused on the smell and taste of her throat, which he explores with his lips, tongue and teeth. She will surely leave traces of it.  
With one hand she presses his head against the bend of her neck and the other she has clawed into his shirt.

Only when there is a discreet knock at the car door do they realize that the ride is over, Rey is now sitting on his lap and his hand is indecently far under the skirt of her dress.  
"Oh! Pardon!" he blushes and pulls his hand away again.  
But she does not apologize. She keeps her hand on his shirt and with the other hand she runs her hand from his hair, over his jaw and strokes his lips very gently with her fingertips.  
"What are you apologizing for, Mr. Solo?"  
"Call me Ben!"  
She smiles.  
"No... I don't think I'm there yet."

They can't keep their hands off each other in the elevator.  
Ben ignores the fact that Chewy, will tell his parents about the events of the later evening, because the only thing he can think about right now is Rey Niima in his bed as soon as possible!

Her deft little hands are everywhere and the way she nibbles at his neck makes him wild.  
The only thing that drives him crazy is her constant refusal to kiss him directly on the mouth.  
Again and again she pulls her head away or pushes his face to the side when he plans to kiss her lips sore.  
He imagines that she must taste intoxicating.

Finally arriving at the door, she suddenly has his apartment keys in her hand and opens the apartment door.  
_When did she grab him?_  
"Rey! How did you...?" he wants to start, but she tears herself away and runs into the apartment.  
"Where is your bedroom?" she calls to him.  
"Up the stairs to the right." he replies as he closes the door.  
He hurries to follow her and hardly believes what he sees.

He has already collected her shoes on the stairs. Now she is standing there, pulling her panties straight out from under her dress, gets out and throws them into the next corner with the words: "We don't need them anymore!"  
Immediately he drops the shoes and notices how his cock gets painfully hard.

In astonishment he watches how she points backwards towards his bed. As soon as the back of her knees reaches the edge of the bed, she falls backwards onto the bed and pushes herself further up, giggling. Meanwhile he takes off his jacket, loosens his tie and approaches her with a greedy look.

When she reaches the pillow with her head, her body seems to relax suddenly.  
"I should warn you kitten!" he says while he climbs onto the mattress with one knee.  
"I won't fuck you without tasting your sweet mouth. First date or no first date!"

When he finally rises completely above her, he freezes.  
"Rey!?" he asks carefully.  
No reaction.  
When she makes a tiny little snore, Ben begins to believe that he is in a divine comedy.  
He is unspeakably keen on these girls, she has constantly rejected him and still refuses to kiss him. And now this incredibly willing and incredibly drunk woman is lying in his bed... without panties on top of that, that somewhere on the floor all alone waiting for her dress and bra and now she's fallen asleep?

"This can only be a joke," he moans, turns to the side and takes a deep breath as he lands on his back.  
With a glance to the side he looks at the sleeping beauty beside him. Her mouth is slightly open and she whispers a little.  
Carefully he pushes a strand of hair from her face. Worried, he wonders if she has ever been as careless as she is now.  
Many other men would shamelessly take advantage of her condition and attack her without consideration.

With a scrutinizing look at his baggy pants, he decides to take a shower... a very cold shower!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thursday 8:23 am

Rey Niima

'Gogong gogong... Gogong gogong... Gogong...

In a constantly calming rhythm, Rey is awakened by a dull throb.  
Her eyes are still closed but already now she feels the unpleasant pressure in her head. Her head... which is not on the usual white pillow.  
But whatever it is, it still feels pleasant and ... moves?  
And why is her arm also lying on this strange pillow...? And her leg...? Is that a side sleeper pillow?  
This is too strange, she finally decides to open her eyes.

The unusual side sleeper pillow turns out to be the naked body of Ben Solo.

Naked? 

Well, almost... he's wearing boxer shorts.

Wait! What actually happened last night?

"Good morning kitty!" his deep voice vibrating his chest startles her.  
Suddenly she is sitting straight as a die on the edge of the bed. And that was a mistake!  
She needs a moment until the dizziness subsides.  
How much did she actually drink yesterday?

"Mister Solo?! Where am I?"  
"In my bedroom Rey."  
"And why am I in you bedroom?"  
"Because once you stole my keys out of your pocket..., by the way, hats off to you, I didn't notice... you opened the door and stormed straight into my bedroom."

Oh, God! One look downstairs and she can see that she's still fully clothed... 

Wait!

"Mister Solo!" her voice has risen a few octaves.  
"Why am I not wearing panties?"  
A slight giggle makes the bed wobble.  
"You took it off. Because you suddenly felt you didn't need it anymore."

Rey turns bright red.  
Oh my God!  
"And then what happened?" she asks in a clear panic.  
"Well..." he starts and leans towards her.  
"...then you crawled onto my bed and..."  
Carefully he pushes her hair aside and exposes her neck. She can already feel his breath on her skin and she gets goose bumps.  
"And then what?" she pushes nervously and is amazed at her dry mouth.  
"...and then..."  
"Yeah?" she breathes.  
"... and then... you fell into an alcoholic coma." he says dryly, but still begins to caress her neck.

Rey freezes. She fell asleep? How much did she drink yesterday? Oh no!  
She is usually so careful... Oh no!  
What if he...? Oh, no!  
She's heard about this happening to drunk women when they get picked up, but... Mister Solo..., did he molest her last night? What did he do to her... that's rape! Rey suddenly feels so dirty.  
And then... rage comes.

She takes two fingers of his hand, with which he just tenderly lifts her arm, turns it around and stands up.  
**"OW!"** he screams before he can free his fingers from her death grip.

Angry and with angry tears in her eyes she screams at him.  
**"And you took advantage of that or what!? You are such a pig! I just can't believe it...! Don't come too close to me! I warn you...!"** she screams her last words even louder as he jumps off the bed and hurries towards her.  
**"Wohw, wohw, wohw! No!** Rey wait! I didn't do anything... I didn't touch you!" he shouts desperately with his hands raised in surrender.

"Didn't you?" she asks in surprise as she is about to strike a blow.  
"No! I am not a monster Rey! And I'm not into necrophilia."  
For a moment, she looks at him and sees no dishonesty in his voice.

"Whatever." she mumbles, lowers her fist and looks around on the floor.  
"What are you looking for kitten?" he asks curiously.

Since when does he call her kitten?  
And why does it bother her so little?

"My panties, you ass!" she's still upset.  
"No need to be abusive!" he mumbles back insulted.

It's not like he can help her now... no! No, he sits on the edge of the bed again and watches her amused.  
Before she can throw another insult at his head, her eyes fall on her bag, which is lying on a chair. And then a cold shiver runs down her spine when the bell in said bag rings.

"Shit! What time is it?" she asks panic-stricken, but before he can answer, she has her ringing phone in her hand and could puke.  
It's already after half past eight and she should have been in the apartment with the others 30 minutes ago.  
"Oh damn!" she exclaims and takes the suppressed call.

"Yes?"  
"Rey Rey damn it! Where are you?" an angry Poe asks on the other line.  
"Sorry! I overslept. I'm hurrying."  
"Is everything okay? We were worried about you."  
"Yes, yes. I'll be there soon."  
With these words she hangs up, grabs her bag and her shoes and hurries out of the bedroom.  
On the way downstairs, she remembers. That she must have left her coat in the bar.  
_Shit!_

At the door Ben catches up with her, leans against it with flat hands and outstretched arms and prevents her from opening it.  
Trapped between his muscular arms, she turns to him and leans her back against the door.  
"Not so fast! Do you want to leave just like that? Without saying goodbye kitten?"

No! That he calls her kittens doesn't bother her. But the word fills her abdomen with a really wonderful warmth. 

Oh, oh! She is clearly in trouble.

But just as he leans over to her, she comes to and puts her hand on his expectant mouth.  
He freezes in the movement. With a slight smile she asks: "Mister Solo? Did I kiss you last night at any point?"  
He carefully reaches for her hand and pulls it from his mouth.  
"I must admit that despite the wine, the martini and all the tequila, you vehemently resisted kissing me."

She smiles, gives him a light kiss on the cheek and says in a soft voice: "Thank you very much for this enchanting evening, Mister Solo!"  
Then she opens the door and pushes herself past him.

She can no longer hear how he puts his forehead against the closed door and mumbles: "That means another cold shower!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> I wish you a nice start of the week.
> 
> Your Lori ❤


	7. Chaptet 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rebels plan a date between Rose and Armitage... And Ben has a surprise for Rey.

Thursday 9:08 am

Rey Niima

Fortunately Rey got a cab right away. After only a quarter of an hour she arrived at the apartment where the others were already sitting at the table, staring at her expectantly as she wordlessly walks past them and locks herself in the bathroom.

After she has freshened up a bit and covered some of the red spots on her neck with make-up, she returns with a booming skull.   
All three of them stare at the laptop screen standing in front of Poe and startle when Rey joins them. Like little schoolchildren caught doing something forbidden, Finn and Rose quickly take their seats again.

"Long night?" asks Poe with a raised eyebrow as Rey sits down.  
"Shut up!" she replies as she crosses her arms on the table and puts her face on it.  
"I'm only asking... because you obviously spent last night in Ben Solo's apartment."  
"Did you track my phone?" she asks without raising her head, in a subdued voice.

"Did you really spend the night with him, peanut?" asks Finn.  
"Well... yes..., sort of... so yes." she still stammers without lifting her head.  
"I suspect that there was a certain amount of alcohol involved?" Poe asks.  
"Yes. There are many things I can't remember. He says I fell asleep at some point when we arrived at his apartment. I woke up in his arms just before you called."

"Oh, my God! Did he attack you while you were sleeping???" Rose now asks indignantly and sounds upset enough to cut his balls off with a rusty spoon. (Why with a spoon...? Because it's dull, you idiot! It hurts more...!...sry^^°)   
Just best friend.

"No, no!" says Rey quickly and finally lifts her head again.   
Too fast!   
As soon as the apartment finally stops spinning she adds: "He was quite a gentleman... and he said he wasn't into necrophilia or anything like that."  
"What is necrophilia?" ask Finn and Rose.  
"Sex with dead people." Poe replies soundlessly and without looking up from the laptop.  
"Eeeeeeeee!" it comes again in chorus, this time from Finn, Rose and Rey.  
"What? You asked."   
All laugh.

"What's on today?" Rey asks the group at some point.  
"Nothing for you, Rey Rey. Rose, has a date tonight, and we're going to get in on it."  
"A date? That's nice, Rose!"  
"Yes. Armi took me out for a drink last night and he asked me out." she raves.  
"Armi?" Rey asks amused.  
"Don't ask!" Poe and Finn call in at the same time, but too late.  
Rose warbles happily in the highest notes, how sweet and polite and how perfect her redheaded admirer is.

"Rosi!" she says at some point.  
"That sounds almost as if you were in love."  
Both boys look up. But Rose gives only a slightly dreamy "Hm ..." of herself.  
She told the three of them about her discovery in the limousine. About the reports of her other thefts and about her nickname.  
Everyone thinks the name _Rebel's_ is great for their group... even if they shouldn't.

Whatever they have planned, Rey's only plans for today are four things. Sleep, chocolate ice cream, wine, and Netflix. Although the wine part is not so much celebrated.  
After all, the last drink from last night was bad.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

11:14 pm

Ben Solo

In the bar where he followed Rey on Monday with his father, it is still very quiet in the morning.  
"Hello Sir! What can I get you?" asks the young woman behind the counter.  
"Hello...uh?"  
"Jess sir."  
"Jess! Nothing today but... I was here on Monday. There was a beautiful young Asian woman behind the bar. You know who I mean?"  
"I know who you mean. I was here on Monday, too. You're talking about Rose."

"Rose. That's right. Can you tell me, has she been working here for a long time?" he asks and slides a $10 note over the counter. Jess looks around briefly and then pulls the note towards her.  
"No. She just started working here two weeks ago."  
"Oh, I see. Is she working today, too?"  
"No." She moans.  
"She has a date with a regular today." 

Ben listens.  
"This regular, wouldn't by any chance be Armitage Hux?  
"Yes. How did you know that? She has a date with him tonight. The lucky girl."

Ben thinks about it for a minute. He was expecting something similar.  
"Do you also remember the young woman who spilled her drink on Mr. Hux's pants?"  
"Oh, yes. That looked embarrassing."  
"Had that woman been there before?" he asks now.  
"No..." she thinks. "No. She was here for the first time."  
"Thanks, Jess. Now if you could answer one more question, I'll leave you alone again... Do you happen to know where Mr. Hux is meeting Rose today?" with his words, he slips her a $50 note.  
"Sure thing." She says, smiling thoughtfully.

A few minutes later in front of the bar, Ben immediately pulls out his cell phone and calls Mitaka.  
"Mitaga! Please check a name for me. Rose Tico. Try to find out as much about her as possible."  
"Rose Tico... all right," Mitaka says dutifully.  
"Also, I need Charls and the limo back tonight."  
"All right... when sir?"  
"6:00! And ask Kaydel to get an assortment of evening dresses?!"  
"Ka-K-Kaydel sir?" the man stammers nervously.

Ben might scold himself. He knows that Kaydel Conix is his secret crush and the poor man gets heart palpitations every time he comes near her.  
"Yeah! Get your dope-fiend self together! She won't bite you. And finally ask the lady for a date! Take the girl to La'Takodana! It'll be alright!" 

Immediately after that he hangs up and asks himself what the devil was riding him.  
Pairing his subordinate with his mother's PA...  
 _I wonder if this is still the residual alcohol?_

The next phone call he actually does not like to make.  
"Mother?"  
"Ben? A call from you?! What a rare pleasure... otherwise I always have to call you into my office when I need to..." she immediately starts to rant... _Of course._  
"Mother... Mother, wait a minute...! Could you do me a favor? Are you still friends with that singer?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

4:58 pm

Rey Niima

As expected, Rey had slept through most of the day. On the way from apartment to the hotel, she picked up a bagel, ate it in her hotel room and then fell asleep almost immediately.  
When she woke up in the afternoon without a headache, she ordered a salad with feta cheese to her room and tried to reconstruct the night before.

She could still remember his suggestion with the tequila... and the tequila. She also remembered her changed order of lick-swallow-suck... and especially his reaction.   
Oh God! What was wrong with her?  
With a strangely weak feeling in her stomach she remembers the moment when he took her hand and licked her index finger... and her reaction.

But somehow much of what came after that lies behind a thick veil.  
She remembers that it was she who suggested going to his apartment.  
What the hell had gotten into her? He is an investigator and is on her trail pretty close. And she has nothing better to do than throw herself at him?

It might not be the worst thing that she picks up the butterfly tomorrow and never sees him again.

At least that's her plan.

However, at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon her phone rings.  
"Niima?!" she answers.  
"Hello Rey!" it comes from the other side of the line.  
"Mr. Solo? How did you...? What are you...? I mean, why are you calling?" she finally asks and feels her cheeks turning red. Why is she so excited?  
"Did you get the delivery yet?"  
"What kind of...?" but she can't pronounce it because the next moment there's a knock on her door.  
"One moment please!" she says into the phone and puts it aside.

_Wait a minute! Delivery?_

Outside her door is a man in a delivery uniform.  
"Delivery for room 223, Miss Rey Niima?"  
In one hand he holds a tray on which she is to acknowledge receipt, and in the other hand, three boxes stacked on top of each other.  
After she has signed, he hands her the shipment with a smile and adds: "I'll wait outside the door."  
She is surprised for a moment, but closes the door behind her and puts the three boxes, which are about A3 in size, on her bed.

_Delivery!_

She turns on the speakerphone function on her cell phone.  
"What will I find in the packages, Mister Solo?"  
"Take a look! Take your pick and give the others back to the supplier!" he explains as she puts the boxes next to each other and opens them.   
Inside are three extremely beautiful evening dresses. One is red, with a large bow at the bottom of the back, one is black and one is beige and high-necked.  
"I would like to take you to the opera today. Turandot is performed and the performance begins at 7 pm. I would pick you up in 1 ½ hours." 

A longer silence develops.

Rey just looks stunned at the three dresses and puts her hand in front of her mouth.  
No one has ever done anything like this for her.  
The dresses are dreamlike and she only notices that she is crying when the first tears reach her hand.

"Rey...? Rey, what is it? Are you still there?"  
She don't know how long he was calling for her. But as soon as she is sure that her voice will not break, she summons her courage and finally answers.  
"Yes... I'm still here... To the opera?"  
"Please say yes!" he pleads and Rey has no idea how he manages, despite his mechanical sounding voice, to give her soft knees.

"I don't know which dress to choose..."  
"Well, my personal favorite is the black one, but if you like the beige one for example... It's about the same color as your coat... which will be delivered tomorrow morning at the latest. You had..."  
"...left it in the bar... Thanks!" she shouts in between.

He talks so fast that she wonders if he is nervous.  
"Yes... but you won't need your coat today... with every dress there is a little jacket or a scarf..."   
_Yes! He's nervous._ Rey must be giggling.  
"A bolero... or stole." she gently corrects him.  
"1 ½ hours then?!"  
"I am happy for, Rey." he replies affectionately and hangs up.  
Until a few minutes ago, she was happy never to see this man again... and now?

After she has decided on one of the dresses and gives the others back to the messenger, she slowly gets ready and is suddenly very happy that she has allowed herself a day of pampering on Saturday. With full body massage, manicure, pedicure, hairdresser and waxing... (incl. intimate waxing).

But why should she be happy about _that_?

Nothing will happen tonight! She will spend a fairytale Cinderella evening with this prince... (oh nonsense) _with this man_ and be back in her bed at midnight on time... when the magic is over.

So the plan...

6:30 pm

Rey Niima

At half past five on the dot she reaches the exit of the hotel. Rey has chosen the black dress. It is floor-length, with a light train, sleeveless and is held on the free back by a silver chain. (No wonder it's his favorite.) And she didn't even mention the deep waterfall neckline.

This time he is not standing in front of the limo himself, but the hairy giant Chewy welcomes her and politely holds the door open for her.  
"Thank you very much!" she says embarrassed.  
"My pleasure, Miss Rey."  
For a moment she wonders if this strong accent might be Scottish.

Inside she finds Ben talking to someone else on his phone. (Apparently an argument!)

"Yes... no! Of course I didn't think it was like that... yes, you're right... as usual."   
He almost whispers the last words and Rey giggles slightly. Finally he notices her.  
With the phone on his ear he looks at her and starts to grin.  
But as soon as he grabs her hand in the next moment and holds it, she freezes.  
He notices it when he already opens his mouth to speak into his phone and looks exactly like her at her hands, which slowly interlock.

It's actually such a harmless gesture... for a couple... which they are not! Is it?!  
Rey is surprised by his grip... and by the fact that she responds to him.  
No one says a word and no one pulls his hand out of the touch.  
His look is amazed when he meets hers and Rey suddenly has to swallow hard.  
They don't notice that the car starts moving again and they certainly don't notice how the city passes them by.

But Rey awakes from her trance as a loud female voice roars through the phone.  
 **"BEN!!! Answer me!"**  
Ben also regains consciousness and directs his concentration back to the person on the other end of the line.  
But he does not let go of her hand.

He apologizes several times and a slight redness forms on his cheeks. However, his apology does not seem to satisfy the woman at the other end.  
What kind of woman is he talking to?  
Again Rey suffers a slight sting.

"No! Of course, I wasn't planning to fix up Dopheld with Kaydel... I don't know what got into me."  
Again a short break in which the woman speaks.  
"Yes, I will. I'll see you later! All right, thanks!"

After he puts his cell phone into his tuxedo, he grins at her again.  
"She sounded upset!"  
"Yes... my boss can be difficult sometimes." he says with a slight groan.  
"Your boss?"  
Then Rey makes it click.   
His boss is a woman?   
His boss... the one he gets along with so well?  
Yes... the yellow monster of jealousy is raging in her breast again. And promtly she takes her hand away from him and turns away from him.

Ben has to hold back a laugh.  
"Did I ever tell you that I work for my mother?" he breathes into her ear very close.  
She shrugs briefly, but doesn't look at him yet.  
"Your mother?" she asks and turns turkey red.  
"Yes! Leia Organa Solo... my mother and manager of Resistance Insurance."  
But she still doesn't look at him.

She feels so stupid right now! What's wrong with her? What is this man doing to her?

"I repeat again. Jealousy does not suit you." he whispers to her and gives her a goose bump.  
"Maybe I'm just insecure because you're investigating me and trying to put me in jail."  
A longer silence reappears.

"This is true!" he simply answers.  
"Then how can I trust you?" she asks and feels tears coming up.  
"Maybe you shouldn't trust me Rey. And maybe I should ask you about your activities in, for example, London, Sydney, Buenos Aires or Paris. But I don't want that."

He's right. He should do exactly that.  
"Even though I know that you would lie to me, the reason I don't ask you these questions is simply because I want to enjoy my time with you. Because I care about you, Rey."

"That's very stupid of you. You know that already?"  
"Yes, it is. But to tell you the truth, I don't know if I've ever been as interested in a woman as I am in you. And please believe me, I don't want to see you in prison."  
"But you want that butterfly back."   
It was not a question.  
She turns to him with big glassy eyes. What exactly are they doing here?  
He looks hurt and carefully strokes a stray strand from her face.   
A touch from him that she appreciates very much.

He does not take his hand away, embraces her neck and pulls her gently towards him.  
Actually she should defend herself, not allow it but... she wants it.  
She finally wants to know if his kiss feels as beautiful as each of his touches.  
Almost desperately she reaches into his soft hair and pulls herself towards him.

But before their lips can reach each other, the car stops.  
Chewy already gets out and walks around the car to open the doors for them.

Ben looks down and takes a deep breath.  
"Maybe for now we should just enjoy the evening."

Yeah. Enjoy the evening. Cinderella has to get out of the carriage and go to the ball. Only Rey cannot remember that Cinderella in the fairy tale was already accompanied by the prince on her way to the ball.

The opera house is beautiful and reminds her a little bit of the Semper Opera in Dresden.   
We are not going to ask what she stole in Dresden...  
In the entrance area many visitors are scattered. Waiters walk around with trays full of champagne flutes and offer them to the guests.  
Rey is totally enchanted by the scenery and is also a little distracted by Ben's hand resting on her lower back.

"Have I ever told you that you look very beautiful Rey?" he asks with a mild smile.  
"That's what the dress does! Thanks for that!" she returns defensively, hoping to retain a tiny bit of control.  
"Rey! You always look beautiful!" 

_And there was the control._

She is about to tell him that he is also very handsome,   
(...probably it would have only produced a croak) when one of the waiters steps up to them.  
"A champagne for you Miss Miss?"

That voice!?  
Did he just say Miss Miss?  
Rey looks up and almost freezes.  
He is wearing a mask (a pretty good one), but that here in front of her is Poe!  
And that means...  
In some distance she can already make out the red mop of hair of Armitage Hux.

Oh man! This is never a coincidence!  
This bastard has led her into a trap!

_Fuck!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, there.
> 
> Have a nice Tuesday.   
> Stay well.
> 
> Your Lori ❤


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben obviously set a trap for her but... what's Poe up to?
> 
> There's a little NSFW warning.

Thursday 6:52 pm

Rey Niima

Nicknames are a curious thing.  
Rey can't remember if her parents gave her a pet name.  
Unkar Plutt... her abnormal guardian, who trained her to pick pockets and liked to starve her to push her through narrow ventilation pipes to steal money or other valuables, always called her 'little one'.

After Finn and his uncle took her away from him, she was quite undernourished and could hardly eat solid food, which she did not spit out after a short time.  
Finn then told her to take it easy. She started with the salted peanuts he gave her. The salt forced her to drink a lot, which was good, and the nuts were full of energy, which gave her strength.

Gradually she got used to real food and began to love peanuts in all forms. She was especially fond of peanuts in chocolate coating and from then on Finn nicknamed her _Peanut_.  
Rey likes to get call that. No one else does. It is something special. It's like he calls her his little sister. Which she basically is.

But she never found out why Poe insisted on calling her Rey Rey.  
When he first called her that, she had protested and he suggested _Sunbeam_ instead. After she threw quite an obscenity at him, he just said, "Wow! Choice of words, girl! All right, _Rey Rey_ then!"  
He stuck with it and she never complained again.

Here in the foyer of the opera house, hardly anyone would notice that he addressed her as _Miss Miss_. Any outsider would think it was a slip of the tongue. But Rey recognized it immediately. Before she can betray herself in Rose's presence, she is warned.  
Ben is really very close on their heels. And even though the game was supposed to excite her, she is disappointed.

She had enjoyed an evening with him very much and now has to realize that this is part of his plan to expose her.  
But still she must not show her disappointment.  
Unfortunately she has already pulled a face and Ben has noticed it.

"No thanks!" she says calmly and then turns to her companion.  
"Better no alcohol today!" she murmurs to him with a conspiratorial smile. He smiles back cheerfully.  
"Yes, that's a good idea!" and with that he also refuses.

That's right! They both have to keep their wits about them to lie, cheat and pretend to each other.

He pushes them further ... and of course in the direction of the redhead.

"What a coincidence...!" he mumbles.  
Yeah, right! Coincidence!  
Rose and the others seem to communicate with each other via earrings, because just like Rey, Rose doesn't give any sign of recognition.

"Mr. Hux!" he exclaims. The only one who is really surprised by the encounter is Armitage Hux.  
"M-Mi-Mister Solo!?" he stammers as soon as the tall dark man faces him.  
Rey does not pay attention to the following conversation. She just smiles and is caught up in her own thoughts.  
Only in the margins she notices how the men briefly exchange information about the investigation.  
She nods politely as Ben brings up her previous encounter with Hux and Hux introduces his companion Rose to them.  
But she pays no further attention. Not Hux's shy blush, not Rose's skilful fluttering eyes and especially not Ben Solo. That huge asshole!

Why had she gotten involved in this evening? She knows better, doesn't she?! She had promised her friends that very morning that the fact that she woke up in Ben Solo's arms meant nothing.  
To make matters worse, she had completely forgotten to tell them about her last-minute date. And now she's standing here endangering the whole enterprise.

She hardly notices Rose and Hux moving on and only wakes up from her dull thoughts when Ben suddenly talks very close to her ear.  
"Rey! I'd like to introduce you to someone else!"  
She looks up at him again and he leads her to an elderly couple that smiles at her expectantly.

"Rey! You already know my father Han Solo and this is my mother, Leia Organa Solo."  
His mother smiles at her benevolently.  
"Mother! This is Miss Rey Niima." he introduces her.  
"Now I know why my son was so distracted on the phone." she says jokingly.  
Rey blushes instantly.  
Mrs Organa is more than a head shorter than her husband, yet they seem to fit together very well.

Just when Rey wants to say something, the waiter (Poe) shows up again. This time with a single orange juice on the tray.  
"Would you prefer a freshly squeezed juice instead of champagne?" he offers Rey directly and gives her a beaming smile.

Now she remembers where she has seen the face before. Poe has made a pretty good Karl Urban mask.  
Rey gratefully accepts the juice, but doesn't know exactly what he's going to do with it yet.

"If I may say so... you really do look quite fetching, Miss."  
All four stare at him stunned.  
Is he flirting with Rey right now? Right in front of their companion? (And his parents?!)  
But he goes even further...  
He grabs her arm, pulls her a little towards him and whispers something to her (audible to all).  
"Don't you want to accompany me to a nearby bar after the performance?"  
Rey is still not sure what Poe is trying to achieve with this nonsense, but one thing he has clearly achieved... Ben grabs his wrist, forcing him to let go of his companion's arm and stares at him angrily.  
In his eyes Rey can see that he could explode at any moment... 

_Is he jealous?_

And just when Mrs Organa wants to intervene, Han Solo bursts in between: "Tell me...! Don't I know you from somewhere?"  
Now everybody's staring at him.  
Ben lets go of his arm and Poe and Rey might panic.  
"Uh... I don't think so, sir." Poe pushes out.  
"Yes, yes! I think I've seen you somewhere before."  
"Oh, you know..." he interrupts him quickly before he thinks of movies like Star Trek, Lord of the Rings or Priest.  
"...I've heard that before, I have such a world face! Well, I have to get back to work... nice to meet you... Miss!"  
With the last word he winks at Rey and disappears quickly.

Everyone watches him as a discreet gong sounds and asks the guests to their seats.  
"So...! Well, we will certainly have the opportunity to talk to Rey. It was nice to meet you!"  
They say goodbye politely and Leia pulls her husband towards the hall.

But Ben doesn't follow them. With a gloomy look he stares after the Karl Urban waiter.  
"Say... could it be that you are jealous in some way?" she asks with a slight amusement in her voice.  
Ben still doesn't look at her.  
_Such a stubborn person... somehow cute!_

To get his attention, she hacks an arm off him and presses it against her.  
It works. He looks at her in positive surprise, amazed at the sudden closeness.  
"Come on, big guy! I don't want to miss the performance." she whispers to him and gives him a light kiss on the cheek as a crowning finale.

Even if it was very stupid, Rey is sure that Poe wanted to achieve exactly that... Ben Solo, jealous.  
What an idiot!   
But still, she thanks him inwardly.

Ben has outdone himself. They are sitting in a private box, all to themself, with a perfect view of the stage.  
Rey can even see Hux's red head in the crowd below them and on the other side, Leia smiles at them from another box.

The opera begins in an Asian setting. It is magical and Rey feels Ben's gaze on her again and again during the performance.  
Only at the end of the second act does Rey look at him and the world around her disappears again as soon as their eyes meet.  
But when the audience begins to applaud, they wake up again.

During the 20-minute intermission they talk about the play, the costumes, the scenery and the music.  
The opera is sung in Italian and Ben is amazed that Rey can even understand a little Italian.

"What other languages do you speak?" he asks curiously.  
"French, Spanish, a little German and Japanese ... I only have problems with Russian." she answers cheerfully.  
"You've been around a lot. And have you ever been to an Italian opera?"  
"No, never... this is my first time."  
"Then Turandot is just the thing!"  
"And what operas have you attended?"  
"Oh, just a few. The soprano who sings Princess Turandot is an old friend of my mother's and gives her tickets for performances from time to time."  
"Is that where the good seats come from?" she asks and points to the box in which they are sitting.  
"Yes. I said I wanted to take someone very special out."  
Rey holds her breath, but she catches it quickly.

"I see...? Who did you want to go here with?" she asks teasingly.  
"Rey!" he blames her.  
She couldn't help herself.

"What do you think of your first opera?"  
"It's fairytale!" she enthuses.  
"You know, I think people's reaction to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic. They either love it or hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul."  
Rey smiles.  
"Mister Solo! Did you just quote from Pretty Woman?" she asks, shaking her head. They both laugh.

Yeah. This one's a little like Pretty Woman. Only Rey stole the priceless necklace before Ben could put it on her.

As the play goes on, she tries to concentrate on the stage again, but she just can't make it. She knows that Ben stares at her all the time and she also knows that something has changed. Even though neither of them intended it, they have become very close.  
At some point she follows the urge and looks at him again. His eyes almost glow in the faint light.

As if by magic, they both lean in front of each other and while the piece _Nessun dorma_ is sung, they give each other their first kiss.  
His lips are just as soft as she always imagined them to be.  
A hand gently strokes her cheek, her neck and pulls her closer to him. As soon as she opens her mouth slightly and prevents his tongue from entering, she is lost.

She asks herself the question why they didn't kiss much earlier.  
Already in the cinema... they had the perfect conditions.  
They were so stupid... no, she was so stupid.

Rey doesn't see Finn, Poe and Rose silently watching this intimate moment between them, but even if she did... she wouldn't care.  
She would love to never do anything else but kiss this man again.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Ben Solo

She tastes like sweet orange juice, kind of flowery and... just like Rey!  
Ben is indifferent to everything. That he couldn't expose her... that he still has no trace of the butterfly... that his mother is probably watching them... and this opera piece.  
All that matters is Rey and the way she pulls him closer on his tuxedo jacket.

A bang wakes her up and separates them. Breathing heavily and giggling softly, they feel like two teenagers in love and only the look of his mother (which he can see out of the corner of his eye) stops him from making her leave...  
Or to get closer to her on a toilet.

No! No toilet! Rey deserves better! He is already planning the best and fastest way out to get her into bed as soon as possible.

To stop himself from snogging her like a slutty 16-year-old during an Italian opera, he tries to concentrate on the action again.  
But he finds it hard and he can't help holding her hand and drawing gentle circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

But finally, when the princess accepts her suitor and they are happily united, he draws his 'princess' back to him and kisses her lips sore.  
They ignore the applause..., the bowing of the ensemble... and the leaving of the first guests. For them only the immediate proximity to the other counts.

Rey is the one who eventually breaks away.  
"Ben!" she moans between two kisses.  
"We should leave...! Let's go, please!"  
He obeys. After catching their breath, they straighten their clothes and hair and leave the box.

His parents are nowhere to be seen and that's good! His face feels very hot and Reys lips are not only subtly swollen.  
In front of the building Charles is already waiting with the car. Without many words they both get in. Chewy warns them that it may still take a while, since there are so many cars leaving the opera at the moment. 

No matter!

After another intense kiss, Rey breaks away from him and looks at him challengingly.  
"Can you perhaps tell me what your investigations against me have already brought to light?" she asks in a honeyed voice.  
The way they kissed all the time and with the way her hand goes up his pants, he could almost forget himself... but only almost!

"Since I'm investigating you, it wouldn't be such a good idea to tell you about my findings, Rey!  
She sulks...  
_Oh God, that's sweet!_  
"What if I try to convince you?"  
Her voice is dangerous.  
Ben swallows hard.  
"And how will you do that?"  
He knows it's a mistake but...

With a shifty grin she leans over him and pushes the button next to the door. Immediately the cut-off wheel rises and encapsulates them from the driver.  
As soon as they are among themselves, she gives him a chaste kiss and starts to open his pants.  
Even though it is very attractive, Ben has no intention of fucking her in the back seat of the limousine.

"Listen Rey...!" he wants to start.  
But she puts a finger on his lips.  
"Shut up, Solo! Relax!" she whispers to him in a hoarse voice.  
As soon as she kneels between his legs, he understands.  
She opens his pants, releases his already stiff member and licks her lips.

"Remember?" she asks and looks at him peeped.  
"Lick, suck and swallow!"  
"Oh my God!" he utters as her wonderful tongue licks over his tip and tastes a drop of fore sperm.  
Each of her touches drives him insane. When she starts to jerk him off a few times with her hand, she looks tiny. He seems so big that she can't even fully grasp him with one hand. But she continues and he starts panting when she licks him again.

He keeps a close eye on her as soon as she pushes his cock between her sweet lips. Her mouth is so moist and warm and the slight moaning that she gives off almost makes him come.  
Slowly she takes him deeper and deeper until he hits her throat. He gives her time to relax and gently strokes her hair, releasing the bun in which it is tied. Now they fall in gentle waves up to her shoulders. Gently he buries one hand in her hair and as she moves her head back and forth he gives her a gentle pace in which she swallows his cock deeper and deeper.

Once she has to choke and he almost forgot himself. But she takes a short time to breathe through her nose, relaxes her throat and continues with a subdued moan.

_Oh God! This mouth should be forbidden!_

She drives him on and on and just before he comes he wants to pull her away from him but she doesn't let go and he spills himself deep down her throat.  
He can watch her eyes move to the back of her head with excitement as his sperm shoots into her and it almost drives him out of his mind.

With an indecent _plop_ she pulls his cock out of her mouth and a mixture of saliva and semen drips down her chin.  
He hands her his tuck-in towel as she sits down next to him again.

"Thanks!" she breathes to him.  
"I have to thank you!" he returns, breathing heavily, as he lets his flaccid limb disappear back into his pants.  
With a satisfied grin, she wipes the traces of her blowjob from her face, but doesn't look at him yet.

Without warning he grabs her and puts her on his lap at the side.  
With his nose he drives up her neck and inhales her literally.  
"Well? Was I able to convince you?" she almost whispers.  
Oh! She meant it! Without thinking for long... and afterwards he really wishes he had thought... he opens his stupid flap.

"I should have noticed it in the bar when you spilled your drink on Hux's pants. You had already left an involuntary note."  
He talks against her neck all the time and she doesn't move.  
"You drink your martini in a rather unusual way and you have to say every time that you like it sweet and with two olives... but not in the bar, not in front of Miss Tico. She knows how you like your drink."

She's still not giving any reaction.  
"And if I may mention, early April is not a good time to visit the Chandrila Rose Garden...! That was a note to Rose. She's on your team, just like the drunk. Walter Dyle."  
Her motionlessness should've warned him... but he keeps on talking.  
"There's probably a fourth person too, but I'll have to find out. As you can see, your ass is about to be mine, Rey!"

>> **Bang** <<

Yeah, he really should have kept his stupid mouth shut.  
After she slaps him a hard slap, she rips open the car door and jumps out of the slowly rolling car, which luckily is just at a traffic light.

He jumps after her, but can't catch her anymore. In the busy bustle of the busiest street, she disappears between other pedestrians.  
He is such an idiot!  
If only he had kept his mouth shut!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend Nessun Dorma by Luciano Pavarotti ...glorious!
> 
> Hello there!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
> 
> Thanks to all readers and comment writers.  
> Everyone stay healthy, please!
> 
> Love, your Lori ❤️


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is out alone at night and is being followed. At some point she sees only one way out...

Thursday 10:58 pm

Rey Niima

"Would you like another one, miss?"  
"No thanks... pay, please!"  
Rey is sitting in a quiet little bar and just had her second wine.  
After she ran away from Ben, she was hiding here to calm down and think.

Even though she doesn't like to admit it... she has definitely fallen in love with Ben Solo... And she would have loved to spend the night with him.  
But he just got too close. The drink, the rose garden... She was clearly too reckless!

At least now she has the chance to do the job with her last bit of self-respect and not see Ben Solo for a long time.  
Even if she is prepared for him to come very close to her from time to time..., it is better this way!

After she has paid the bill, she wraps herself in her stole, grabs her bag and wants to leave the restaurant.  
"Shall I call you a cab, miss?" the nice waitress asks.  
"No thanks... my hotel is very close."  
"You shouldn't walk around alone at night, dressed like that!" she insists.  
"It's okay... I can take care of myself!"  
Rey is annoyed and leaves the bar without another word.

She regrets it already after a few steps. She noticed the two men when she left the bar and she could tell that they were following her after only a few steps.  
First they run after her on the other side of the street and then change to her side.  
The quieter the streets become, the smaller the distance to them.

But when she turns a corner and the men follow her, she suddenly disappears. In panic, the two look around.  
Before them lies an empty street. A garbage can, a few trees, and a roofed entrance to an apartment building.  
"Damn it! Where did she go? Keep an eye on the other corner, I'll take a look around the entrance."

After about a minute, the man comes back.  
"The door is locked. She can't get in."  
"The other side of the street is empty too."  
"Where could she have gone?"  
"I don't know, the Boss won't be happy that we lost!"  
"Yeah, but that's not so bad! Ren called us her hotel We'll just wait for her there!"

And with these words, the two men disappear and don't notice the cloth tip of the stole hanging from the treetop, blowing lightly in the wind.  
Over the trash can, Rey was able to escape the men and save herself on a tree. She watches them for some time before jumping back to the ground.  
Her silver and black high heels survived the ascent well, but unfortunately a heel gave way on landing and forced Rey to her knees.

Now she has really reached the bottom! She sits on the ground in a dreamlike evening dress, supports herself with her hands and has lowered her head.  
She can't go back to her hotel, she doesn't dare to go back to her apartment if she is still being followed and now her shoes are scrap!

She decides that things can't get any worse... But as soon as she gets up and wipes her shoes off her feet, her nose tells her otherwise.  
A fresh (and for her very well known) scent rises and Rey can feel the first drops already on her skin. A fresh shower of rain falls on her and she gets completely soaked in no time.

"What a fucking mess!" she exclaims and feels hot tears flowing down her cheek.  
How could it have come so far?  
Who are these men and on whose behalf did they act? Ren! She can't help herself but somehow the name sounds familiar.  
But right now she would just like to curl up in her bed and cry to her heart's content.  
How could this day have gone so shitty?  
She knows that she has no other choice. So she runs off... right into her probable doom.

11:33 pm

Throughout the entire elevator ride, in which the floor was dripping wet, she considered three times whether it would not be better to walk again.  
But now she is standing at the door.

She is incapable of more than a hesitant knock and she is very surprised when Ben rips the door open after only a few seconds.  
She must make a pathetic picture. Completely soaked, crying and trembling. She expects him to send her away, insult her or just slam the door in her face but...

In a flowing movement he pulls her towards him and takes her firmly in his arms.  
"God, Rey! I was so worried about you!"  
He has taken off his jacket, taken off the fly and opened his shirt up to his collarbone. His hair looks very messy, as if he had driven himself through it with his hand more than once. And his voice... sounds like pure desperation. He is really exhausted and that because of her!

Without knowing exactly what she is doing, she embraces his huge body with her thin arms and presses herself even closer to him.  
Her tears flow unhindered and saturate his white shirt.  
Gently he leads her into his apartment, closes the door and just holds her for a while until she calms down and stops sobbing.

While she comes down again, he gives her feathery kisses on her hairline again and again and whispers softly that everything will be alright, that he is with her and that she is safe now.  
Something in his voice calms her down and really gives her the security that she, unconsciously, has always longed for so much.

As soon as she has regained her self-confidence, she pushes something away from him.  
"Can I stay here tonight? Two men have been following me and I think they know which hotel I'm staying at."  
"You were followed? Who were those men?"  
Rey shrugs her shoulders for a moment and then sniffles briefly.  
He leads her into his living room and hands her a handkerchief.  
"I don't know ... but they were sent by someone named Ren or something." she admits after blowing her nose.  
Ben ponders for a moment.  
"Hmm... Ren?! Maybe... Kylo Ren."

Rey freezes in mid-motion. Kylo Ren?! Everyone in her fears knows that name. Rey herself has admired it for years. He is a legend, a gentleman thief, with a very elegant style.  
Unfortunately, no one has heard of him for over seven years and the general public assumes that he has retired from the business.  
Now she can no longer deny to Ben that she knows the name.

"Does the name mean anything to you?" he asks in surprise when he sees her look.  
"Uh... yes...! I once read an article about him when he was working in London ... But why would the famous Kylo Ren have me followed?"

_Did I just say famous?_

"Did you just say famous?" 

_Oh shit!_

"Uh..."  
"Tell me Rey... do you admire this Kylo Ren?" he asks visibly amused.  
"Don't be silly! I don't even know him!" she says angrily and turns away from him with folded arms.

As he puts his hands on her shoulders, a short shiver goes through her.  
"Please don't be angry with me! You can stay as long as you like."  
She enjoys his touch and leans against him very lightly.

"I'm sorry about the slap."  
"No, I'm not sorry. You don't have to apologize! I went too far... I shouldn't have said what I did!"

Despite his body weight on her back, she starts to tremble.  
"First of all you have to get out of this wet dress!" he says and is about to start pushing the straps off her shoulders, when she turns around in shock and shouts **"Hey!"**

Just as frightened he shrugs back from her with his hands up and blushes.  
"That... I didn't mean... I don't mean like that... no... what I mean is..."  
He exhales loudly, puts one hand to his side and grasps the bridge of his nose between thumb and index finger.  
"I am sorry, Rey! I did not mean it that way. Behind the door is my bathroom, you can take a shower and I'll leave you something to wear."  
He points to a door near the stairs and then turns away. It is clear that he is feeling very uncomfortable right now and Rey is a little ashamed.

She should now just go to his bathroom, take a hot shower, put on a temporary nightgown (probably one of his t-shirts, which is way too big for her) and go to sleep without any more incidents!

She has already turned around to the bathroom door, thinks for a moment and then walks back towards Ben.  
She rubs her hands tightly against her chest and turns her back to him as soon as she stands in front of him.  
"Can you please open the chain fastener?" she asks almost whisperingly and turns her head to the side.  
Without saying a word, he moves his fingers very carefully from her neck to the point where a clasp holds the silver chain and the dress together.

Rey can feel his breath on her skin and her shivering is replaced by heat in her abdomen.  
Her breath goes a little faster as the clasp and chain dangle down her back and his fingers stay on her skin for a moment longer. She turns back to him and when their eyes meet, she sees pure desire in his dark eyes.  
"Thank you!" she breathes and hurries to the bathroom.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Ben Solo

He stands motionless in the middle of the room for a few minutes and stares at the closed bathroom door.  
The thought of her flawless back, her silky soft skin and her slight trembling make his pants uncomfortably tight.  
He knows very well that he should get her something to wear, (a t-shirt or a shirt... also pants?) offer her his bed, take a cold shower and spend the night on his couch.  
But...

The sound of the crackling water wakes him up again.  
He quickly types something into his phone, puts it to his ear and hurries up the stairs to get her something to wear.

_"Bowdy here!"_ he answers the other end of the line.  
"Are you and Waxley still looking?"   
_"We followed Miss Niima from a bar and lost track of her shortly after. We're standing outside her hotel now, waiting for her. Shall we still bring her to you, boss?"_  
"No! You can call it a day. Thanks again!"  
 _"Oh, no?! No problem. We're officially working for your mom now but Kylo Ren's assignments have always been much more exciting!"_  
"I'm glad to hear it. Make sure you get home and Bowdy...! Please stop calling me Kylo Ren!"  
 _"You got it, Mr. Solo, sir boss, sir!"_ he teases him with a smirk.  
"You're an ass!" Ben says to the phone as the other guy hangs up.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

11:57 pm

Rey Niima

The hot shower did her good. She is not so cold anymore and the shivering has stopped.  
But now an excited redness has crept onto her cheeks.

In the shower she couldn't wash away his touch on her back even with the hottest water jet.  
She had leaned against the shower wall with outstretched arms.  
As if by magic, her hand landed on her lower abdomen, just above the spot where so much pressure had already built up.

Very slowly, her hand slid deeper until it embraced her sex, which was dripping with moisture despite the shower water.  
She was about to slip a finger into her cleft and imagine Ben Solo's hands all over her body... when she was startled by a knock on the door.

"Rey? I'll leave you something to wear by the sink."

Rey had quickly put her hand on her mouth to nip any moans or whimpering in the bud.  
With the sound of the door closing, she hurried to get out of the shower and stay away from any more stupid things.

After she dried herself and put on his much too big shirt and buttoned it up, she went back to him.  
He is sitting at his kitchen counter on a bar stool and is reading something on his tray.  
He has already taken off his shoes and socks and taken his shirt out of his pants.  
He seems so... normal. Like a simple businessman after a long and hard day at work.

Barefoot she walks towards him while she folds the sleeves that are much too long.  
"Thanks for the shirt!" she says quietly.  
"No problem at all, you can..." but he stops as soon as he looks up at her.  
Rey senses that she's blushing again under his intense gaze, which she examines from head to toe.

"Yes?" she asks to get him back.  
He clears his throat.  
"I still have a little present for you here!" he says and points to the kitchen counter where he places his tray.  
On it stands a small cuboid box on a plate.  
"What is it?" she asks as she approaches the kitchen counter and rests her forearms on it.  
"Why don't you lift up the box and you'll see it." he suggests and leans closer to her.  
Smiling, she picks up the box and finds a fist-sized cake made of wonderfully juicy chocolate dough.

"This is a Chokoholic Fudge Cake. The best chocolate cake in town. As a little compensation for not getting one on Tuesday."  
Rey looks at the sweet gift in amazement. It is such an enchanting and innocent gesture ... that she is even less able to explain her next action in retrospect.

With a firm grip she grabs him by his shirt and pulls him down from his stool to herself. Without any warning, she presses her lips against those of her confused counterpart.  
He reacts quickly, grabs her by the waist and lifts her up so that she can put her legs around his waist. With one hand he grabs under her butt to hold her and, breathing heavily, releases the kiss.

"No panties?!" he asks amazed.  
"You still owe me one!" she breathes back, wraps her arms around his neck and continues the kiss while he carries her towards the stairs and thus into his bedroom.

No more words are needed! And why should they?  
They are here and they both want it.  
Everything around them disappears, there are only the two of them left.  
And as soon as he has closed the door behind him, it is midnight.  
The spell is over... and the prince has chosen his princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story so far.
> 
> I especially enjoyed writing the last three chapters.  
> The next chapter is especially long and contains another NSFW warning.
> 
> Have a nice week and please stay healthy!
> 
> Greetings Lori ❤️


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey spend a wonderful night together. But what happens afterwards? Ben is still looking for the butterfly... and Rey doesn't want to go to prison...
> 
> NSFW warning...

Arriving in front of his bed, he puts her on the floor. Without releasing their lips from each other they start to undress each other. Rey's deft little fingers can undo the remaining buttons on his shirt in no time at all and slide it over his shoulders, running their hands across his muscular chest.

His hands, on the other hand, are coarse and clumsy and are also trembling with excitement. When he also has to interrupt his efforts briefly to slip his shirt off his shoulders, he wonders how he usually opened the damn thing. After all, it is his shirt!  
With a slight growl he resigns, releases the kiss and tears the shirt apart. The little plastic buttons give way with a rattle and fly wildly around.

Rey breathes a shocked sigh of relief when he rips the oversized piece of cloth from her arms and leaves her completely naked.  
He pushes her further backwards until she reaches the edge of the bed with the back of her knees, just like the night before, and falls backwards.

Rey is flinched by a deja vu as she crawls further up the bed.  
_Damn it!_ she thinks to herself. They had already reached this point yesterday.  
_Stupid tequila!_

But every thought of her humiliating tequila helplessness and other embarrassments are immediately forgotten as soon as Ben slowly unbuckles his belt and takes off his pants. As he unbuckles his buttons and zipper, she looks up at his belly, up to his muscular, broad chest...

_Holy shit! Does the man live at the gym? These arms...!_

She suddenly feels very inadequate as she looks down at her narrow body with her breasts that are far too small.

But the rustling of fabric makes her look up again and her mouth gets watery when she sees the huge bulge in his underpants.  
Already when she had satisfied him with her mouth a few hours ago, she asked herself how this enormous beating should fit into her.  
But now he is standing in front of her, the underpants are gone after a short time and he rises up big, threatening and delicious.  
Her gaze sticks to him and she goes over in her mind whether she is capable of stretching so far.

"Rey! Can you do me a favor?" he asks with a clear panic in his voice, which makes her look up to him quickly as he climbs up to her on the bed. Lovingly he embraces her cheek with one hand and strokes her lower lip.  
"Please do not fall asleep again!"  
She can't resist a slight giggle, straightens up, puts her arms around his shoulders and pulls him towards her for a passionate kiss.

After a short while he is above her and presses her back onto the mattress.  
His mouth wanders across her jaws, up to her neck, where he gently kisses every single hickey from the night before. A hand slides from her hip over her stomach to her tits. 

Rey unconsciously flinches a little as his big warm hand completely embraces one of her breasts.  
"They are very small... I know..." she says slightly breathless.

He pauses briefly, straightens up and looks directly at her breasts, which rise and fall excitedly as she breathes.  
Then he puts his lips around her free nipple and sucks lightly on them while twisting the other one between two fingers and making her moan softly.  
"They are..." he begins after he lets go of her hard nipple and opens his mouth to the other.  
"...perfect!" he says after a light kiss on the sensitive nipple.  
"You are perfect!" he breathes reverently and almost brings tears to her eyes.

But even this is forgotten as soon as he starts to take her nipple in his mouth and sucks and nibbles on it so hard that she is sure to find bruises from it the next day.

When he bites especially hard and pulls the other nipple with his fingers she makes a throaty cry of pleasure and presses her legs together to get the much needed friction.

He lets go of her breasts and slides further down. With a light pressure on her knees, he opens her legs and exposes her heated wet center.  
A cool breeze touches her cunt and gives her excited goose bumps.

Between her open legs he looks at his small wet operation field.  
With one arm he grabs her thigh and holds her tight while he spreads her lower lips with the other hand. With his flat tongue he licks over her pussy and is completely intoxicated by her sweet nectar. 

Rey whimpers softly as he nudges her clit with his tip and she tries to squirm as he dives his warm tongue into her cleft and licks it out.

To keep herself calm, she bites her knuckles and fists the sheet with her other hand. 

But when he replaces his tongue with a finger and sucks her clitoris between his lips, she emits a loud scream and grabs his hair uncontrollably with one hand. 

Her fingernails on his scalp hurt, but he doesn't care. He moans turned on against her cunt and adds another one to his finger in her hole.  
He fucks her with it and takes care of her in exactly the right place, which makes her eyes fall into the back of her head and elicits incoherent sounds from her. 

As soon as he also adds a third finger and increases his treatment on her clitoris, she tilts over the edge and breaks under him.  
With a loud gasp her pussy clutches around his fingers and he greedily drinks her cunt juice while she comes down from her high again.

Breathing heavily she notices only at the edge how he sits up, wipes her excitement from his mouth and lies down on her side next to her.  
"You taste incredible." he says with an admiring look.  
"And you have an incredibly skilled mouth..." she replies and strokes his still wet lips with her thumb.  
"...and your fingers are also incredibly skilled." she almost whispers and bites her lower lip. 

He raises one hand and holds his index fingers in front of her mouth, which is still covered with her juices.  
"Suck!" he gently directs her.  
Rey obediently opens her mouth, encloses his finger with her lobes and sucks vigorously on it, which makes him breathe in sharply through his teeth.  
She tastes herself and is incredibly turned on by it.

"Good girl!" he praises her and wants to bend over to her for a kiss after he has taken his finger out of her mouth.

"I thought I was your kitten?" she asks challengingly.  
He pauses briefly, smiles at her and whispers: "Yes! You are _my_ kitten!" 

During the kiss that follows, he lies down on her and puts his painfully hard cock in position at her entrance.  
But does not push forward yet. First he involves her in a hot tongue fight and struggles for dominance. 

As he reluctantly takes his mouth off hers to catch his breath, he looks at her with an awe-inspiring look that touches her insides.  
"I am sorry... !" it suddenly bursts out of her.  
"What? What are you sorry for, kitten?"  
His voice is drenched with anxiety.  
"That I turned you down in front of the cinema..." she breathes embarrassed and with a fragile voice.  
Ben grins broadly and pushes a small wisp of hair from her face.  
"And what about the other time? In the bar. You blew me off there too!"  
A little giggle leaves her.  
"Don't push it too far solo!" she playfully warns him and pulls him back to her.

He pauses briefly and looks over her to his bedside table. But before he can move towards it to look for contraception, (which is probably buried very deep after more than a year) she turns his head towards her.  
"I'm clean and wearing an implant."  
"Good!" is his simple retort as he lowers his mouth back onto hers.

With a smooth push that presses all her air volume out of her lungs, he is completely inside her and fills her perfectly.   
A pressed groan also breaks out of him and they need a moment to get used to each other.

Rey feels so warm and humid and above all so... tight!  
He has to pull himself together to not come immediately.  
As soon as she relaxes a bit, he moves. She raises her knees, which gives him an even better angle to push into her.

His movements and his wheezing become more and more hectic and with his forehead in her neck he takes her completely, while she buries her finger in his hair.  
But she wouldn't be Rey if, despite the many capitulations of the day, she didn't stand her ground.  
With the right jerk, she manages to turn him over and now lies on top of him. (He, still inside her.)

She sits up, leans on his chest and starts riding him.  
He looks at her admiringly, grabs her hips so violently that she would probably bear traces of it, and tells her a rhythm.

He finds her whimpering enchanting, that she gives of herself as she swings herself higher and higher.  
Leaving her in charge, he drives up to her breasts with his hands on her sides. A small scream escapes her as he snaps her stiff nipples with his thumbs.  
These perfect little tits fit his hands exactly and he likes her softness but he wants more.

To her surprise, he sits up, lets her cross her feet behind his back and in this position he can push deep into her.  
With one hand he holds her between the shoulder blades and with the other he takes her nipple between thumb and forefinger and twirls it until she makes an enthusiastic meow.  
She knows exactly what he is up to, comes towards him and bends her back so that he can take her other breast in his mouth.  
Playfully his tongue caresses her nipple and then sucks on it firmly, which makes her scream again, only this time louder.

He jacks up his hips and pushes powerfully into her. Her head has fallen backwards and her moans and whimpers become more and more excited and penetrating as her movements adapt to each other.  
She is about to reach her second climax when she buries her hands in his hair again and presses his mouth firmly onto her chest. When he bites into it once very lightly she screams his name, paired with some curses and her muscles tense up in ecstasy.  
He pushes untidily into her while she rides on her high.

As soon as she comes down to the ground again, he holds still and waits for her to catch her breath.  
She has put her forehead against his shoulder and enjoys the light showers that still chase through her body.  
He is still inside her and still hard.

Soothingly, he strokes her spine with his finger syringes. He gives her goose bumps and she jerks her hips a little.  
Immediately he pulls her closer and turns with her so that he lies over her again.  
He lifts one of her knees to his hip and starts hammering into her at a relentless pace.  
She can hardly do anything else but cling to his shoulder and take what he gives her.

Again and again he moans her name, kisses her temple or forehead and she feels her next climax building up.  
"Yes! Yes! **YES!** Ben yes! Don't stop! **DO NOT STOP!** " she screams and begins to see stars as he lets go of her knee, reaches between them and rubs her clitoris in light circles.  
"Come for me kitty!" he moans.  
With a loud roar he comes and she follows him, scratching his shoulders and prolonging his orgasm while her inner walls wrap themselves around him like a vice and milk him enthusiastically.

Completely out of breath he pulls himself out of her, turns on his back and pulls her onto his chest.  
She is now lying exactly as she woke up in the morning. Only this time she is out of breath and after the best sex of her life. She is wallowing in orgastic aftershocks. And that she is aware that she loves the man in whose arms she lies ...  
And in the position in which she woke up in the morning, she now falls asleep deeply and firmly after a few seconds, while she holds on protectively.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Friday 7:44 am

Ben Solo

A subtle knock wakes him from a very peaceful sleep.  
The first thing he sees is Rey, who is already sleeping with her head on his chest as she did the day before.  
A satisfied smile forms on his face as he realizes that he can easily get used to this circumstance.

Unfortunately the second thing he sees is his father leaning at the door to his bedroom with a shit-eating grin.  
Ben registers ( overjoyed ) that Rey is covered up to her back with a blanket.

"I'm waiting in the kitchen." says Han in a mischievous tone and leaves the room before Ben can respond.  
Annoyed, Ben coughs his breath out, throws his head back into the pillow and covers his eyes with the hand that is not holding Rey.  
Stealthily he looks under his hand and observes the fine features of his kitten.  
_Yes! His kitten!_  
Gently he leans forward and gives her a soft kiss on the forehead.

After he has carefully (and very reluctantly) detached himself from Rey, he puts some clothes on and goes to the kitchen, to his father.  
"Remind me to take away the key to my apartment again!"  
"Good morning to you too, kid! And what makes you think that I came with a spare key for your apartment?" Han asks with blatant amusement.  
_Right again!_ Ben thinks to himself. His father had taught him at the age of 7 to open locked doors without leaving any traces.

"Why are you here so early? Do you want a coffee?" he asks while starting up his coffee machine.  
"No thanks! I've already had two and... your mother doesn't allow me any more."  
Ben is inside celebrating... Yes, that's exactly his mother!

"I came because I became aware of the investigation. By the way, you were quite right about this Rose Tico. She graduated summa cum laude from MIT at 16. It's suspected that a few years later, she hacked into the FBI's computers."  
"Why is it only suspected?" asks Ben as he takes a sip of his finished coffee.

"She had disappeared. The authorities could no longer prove anything to her. According to rumors, she had worked for Anonymus for several years until she suddenly started travelling all over the world. And practically always at about the same time and place as your charming Miss Niima."  
"Then she is the IT specialist."

"Not so fast, kid! Our friends in the police force had a good nose for this, too. Miss Tico's and Miss Niima's travel dates also roughly coincide with those of a certain Finn Storm. He's a member of the museum cleaning crew and they noticed him."  
"How did he stand out?"  
"His undeniable knowledge of art. And it's no accident."

Ben notices a slight sigh of relief behind him as his father speaks. But don't let him know that they are probably being overheard by _his_ charming Miss Niima.

"Finn Storm is the nephew of Lando Calrissian."  
"Uncle Lando?!" Ben utters in surprise.  
"Yes, I guess he taught the little fellow everything he knows. And that made me think back to a story Lando told me a few years ago. He and his nephew must have pulled a skinny girl out of a pretty bad situation in London and nursed her back to health. The little girl is said to have been raised to be a thief from childhood on. Lando put the finishing touches on her and then let her work for him for a few years. Until his nephew and the girl left and started their own business together with some swindler.

"Rey is that girl..." Ben mumbles more to himself.  
"Yeah, along with Miss Tico, Finn Storm, and probably that Karl Urban prick who tried to drive you crazy last night."  
"Walter Dyle." ponders Ben, still in his own mind.

"It seems this phantom you've been chasing for years isn't a single rebel, but a highly talented group of rebels!"  
Ben can only agree with him, but the next moment he hears the front door slam shut.  
"Oh man! Did she just escape?" Han asks with growing concern.  
"Yes. And before you ask, I suspect she overheard every word as well." he replies casually and puts two slices of white bread in the toaster.

"Yes... don't you want to go after her? I mean, before she leaves town?"  
"Don't worry, she can't leave town yet... she doesn't have the butterfly."

Above his father's head, there seem to be all these question marks, symbolically. And the calm composure of his son amazes him.  
Has he forgotten how important the butterfly is for his mother?  
"Don't worry," he says cheerfully.  
"I promise you... by noon at the latest, mother will have the butterfly back."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

9:58 am

Ties Trooper

Ties Trooper has been a parcel deliverer for 7 years... and he has always delivered on time. But he has never delivered such a strange package before.  
A padded envelope, with express franking. But so inconveniently posted, (probably in some public mailbox,) that the envelope had probably been on the road for about a week. Even more unusual is the address.  
An apartment building, where he has often delivered. He knows it particularly well, because he is always happy to greet the pretty receptionist.   
And on top of all the peculiarities, Ties also knows very well that the apartment is occupied by a single red-haired man and not a woman... especially not with that name.

He stops with his van right in front of the entrance and can already see the bright smile of his crush through the glazed doors.  
Before he goes through the door, he notices a tall man leaning against the wall of the house and watching him, supposedly inconspicuously.

"Hello, Ties!" warbles a cheerful voice.  
"Ha-Hello, Sairah! Beautiful weather today!" he stutters embarrassed.  
For a moment he is still distracted by her ravishing eyes and doesn't notice that the tall man has followed him and is already standing in front of the elevator.  
"Not much to deliver today?" she asks expectantly and points to the lonely envelope in his hand.  
"Uh, n-n-no! Only this." He replies and lifts it, as if to confirm.

He stands there for a few seconds and already starts sweating until he turns away with a "Well then!" and hurries to the elevators.  
Together with the tall man he gets in and presses the button for his floor.  
Only when the doors close does he notice that the man has not chosen a floor.  
Ties wants to talk to him about it... but quickly reconsiders his plan as soon as he realizes the sheer size of the man.

Silently, they reach the floor and Ties decides to ignore that the stranger slowly follows him.  
Arriving at the door he presses the bell and is relieved that it opens after a few seconds.  
He has to swallow hard when he sees the elegant young woman who has opened the door for him. He looks at her closely from head to toe.

She is wearing black pumps, an elegant black tight-fitting dress that ends with fine fringes just above the knees, has a small bow on the belly and is sleeveless. She wears her hair in a skilful bun and her hands are dressed with black gloves.

Ties must refrain from an appreciative whistle. Which woman still wears gloves today?  
But it fits the overall picture, it makes her look very noble. But her facial expression is anything but noble. She looks deeply frightened when she recognizes his pursuer.

"Miss Holly Golightly?" he asks to get out of the situation quickly.  
She gets back on her feet.  
"Yes."  
"C-could I see some kind of identification or something?"  
After he checks her photo I.D., he hands her the envelope and gets out of there fast.

He makes a firm resolution to ask Sairah out tonight.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

10:08 am

Rey Niima

Whatever the past week has been for Rey, nothing was nearly as shitty as the whole Friday morning.

First she woke up without the pleasant warmth of Ben. Then she had overheard the conversation between him and his father and learned that she should get out of here as soon as possible.  
To make matters worse, she had to flee his apartment barefoot and in a ripping evening gown.  
Fortunately, a cab driver took pity on her and picked her up right in front of the entrance.  
But she could have done without his sneering comments about her _Walk of Shame_.

At the hotel reception she was stared at with no less interest. Fortunately for her, her coat had reappeared and Poe's delivery was left at the receptionist for her.  
After a shower she almost felt like a normal person again, if you ignore the marks Ben left on her, on her neck, her breasts and her hips.  
Without thinking much about it, she quickly put on her new dress, which was funnily enough modeled after an Audrey Hepburn costume. The matching satin gloves will avoid any fingerprints.

From the small package from Poe, she fetches a fake apartment key and a small addition with a note. _Rose says you might need this._ It says so.  
Rey thinks about it for a moment, but then decides that it can't hurt to use it for security.

The fake key leads to Armitage Hux's apartment and was copied last night at the opera house. Rose had stolen it on her date, presented it to Finn, who made the copy and put it back in his pocket before the end of the play.

The security system in his apartment is easy to circumvent, but she cannot get past the special lock without a key.

On the way to his apartment she had forbidden herself any thoughts of Ben Solo knitting, but had failed miserably. What will happen now? Would he track her down? If so, where would he find her? And what would happen then?  
They have their next assignment (once again) in Argentina.  
She wondered whether she had created a devoted pursuer with him...

Armitage Hux's apartment is large, open, bright and seems completely sterile.  
The absence of any personal belongings indicates a severe lack of interpersonal relationships.  
However, Rey notices a number of small pieces of paper on his coffee table that do not seem to fit into the overall picture. Bills from the bar where Rose works. All signed by her and each one decorated with a smilie (before Monday) or a heart (from Monday on).  
He has really got it bad...! And Rose as well!  
But as soon as they have left the city... they will never see each other again...

The people of the doorbell rips her out of her depressing thoughts.  
In front of the door stands, as expected, a supplier with the longed for envelope and a few steps behind him ... Ben Solo.

_How the hell...?_

In a split second, her polite smile disappears and is replaced by an expression of sheer panic.  
After she has confirmed receipt and accepted the envelope, the supplier disappears as quickly as possible.

Ben pushes her back into the apartment, closes the door behind her and without much resistance takes the envelope out of her hand.

_I'm so fucked!_

With a mixture of caution, defensiveness and a slight apology she looks at him and moves a few inches away from him.  
What will he do now? Will she have to fight? One thing is for sure ... she won't do it to him as easily as last night!

"Do you actually know the story about the Blue Butterfly?" he asks calmly and almost casually.  
She hadn't expected that. Amazed but still cautious and ready to jump at any moment, she slowly shakes her head.

"Does the name Anakin Skywalker mean anything to you?"  
Rey does not have to think long.  
"It was some rich oil tycoon, I think." 

_Yeah, some rich fat cat... with one of the most impressive art collections in the world._

Finn had raved about it at length.

"He had fallen in love with a respected senator. Padme Amidala. She gave up her promising political career to marry him. As a sign of his unwavering love, he had the Blue Butterfly made for her. They were very happy... for a time."  
Ben's voice seems very sad with these last words, as if the story is affecting him personally. Rey relaxes a little and continues to listen to his stories.

"Padme became pregnant. Her happiness seemed perfect. But something went wrong with the birth of her twins ... and she died in the delivery room."  
Again his words take on a sad sound and she watches attentively as he reaches for the tear tab of the envelope.  
"After the death of his great love, Anakin fell into a deep hole and lost almost his entire fortune after a short time. And out of sheer desperation, he finally took his own life."

They remain silent for a while, until Rey has an urgent question burning on her tongue.  
"What became of the children?"  
"The twins, a boy and a girl, were separated. The boy grew up with relatives of Anakin in the country. And the girl was adopted by a former political ally of Padme. They grew up separated from each other, but found each other again when they came of age and began their clearly diminished inheritance. Each received a small fortune and together they owned the Blue Butterfly, which had been kept in a safe deposit box until then. Since it was the only real memento of their parents, they decided not to sell it and gave it on loan to a museum so that it could be viewed by the general public."

Indeed an impressive story and especially the fate of the abandoned children touches Rey. However, she cannot imagine to what extent this story affects the present. As if he had heard her questioning thought, he continues.

"Well, the daughter of Anakin and Padme, used her inheritance to build up her own company, which today is one of the world's leading insurance companies.

And suddenly, it clicks.  
"Your mother...?!" she stunned.  
"Yes." He answers and opens the envelope.

Rey looks down in shame. Everything makes sense now. That's why Ben was so obsessed with the butterfly.  
A faint clink attracts her attention. He has emptied the padded envelope on his hand, on which the valuable piece of jewelry now lies.

Rey looks up from the sparkling object in his hand and fixes him with expectant eyes.  
What is he doing now?

He places the empty envelope behind him on a sideboard and slowly walks towards her.  
She takes a few steps back again until she hits the back of the couch.  
He stops right in front of her and looks at her with an intense gaze that she cannot quite interpret.

He takes a deep breath, opens the clasp of the necklace and puts it around the neck of an astonished Rey while he says with a firm voice: "Anakin gave this necklace to the woman he loved above all else."

Rey slightly frowned and can hardly hide her shock.

_Is he serious right now? Or...? Does this mean...?_

In his eyes she can only find truth and something like vulnerability.

"Ben...!" she breathes, but is interrupted when he puts his hands on her shoulders and bends down to her.  
The kiss he puts on her lips is soft and almost as light as a feather.  
Completely captured, she closes her eyes and almost loses herself in this intoxicating intimacy.  
But it only lasts for a moment... As soon as he opens his mouth slightly and pushes the tip of his tongue against her lower lip, she wakes up again. The feeling of his tongue gliding gently over her lips, asking to be let in, fascinates her a little.

She leans back from him and watches him with mixed feelings. He waits for her next reaction.  
It takes almost a minute until he gives a very light, suppressed gasp.

She clears her throat briefly to get rid of the dumpling in her throat.  
"Ben...!" she starts again and this time she does not let herself be interrupted.  
"You really mean a lot to me...! More than I'd admit."  
In wise foresight, she puts her arms around his broad chest to maneuver him to the sofa at just the right moment when his muscles begin to relax.  
With a muffled bang, Ben lands with his back on the piece of furniture, which jerks back a little due to the impact of his massive body.

There he lies now. Totally flaccid and unable to move. His feet are still touching the floor and his arms are lying motionless at his side.  
In order to direct him properly and to prevent him from hitting the ground and seriously injuring himself, Rey had her arms firmly around him and landed on him when he fell.  
She laid her head on his shoulder for a moment, enjoying the fleeting moment and breathing in his wonderful smell. Somehow earthy, pine needles, fresh rain and musk. She loves it.

But also this moment has to end!   
She reaches over him to the pack of cloths standing on the coffee table. (In the end, one wonders briefly why in the apartment of a single man on the coffee table, in front of the TV, a pack of cellulose cloths is standing ... or not!)  
She leans so far over him that his slightly panicky eyes can watch her while she wipes off the remains of the supposed lip gloss. Rose was actually right. She could use it.  
"Don't be afraid!" she calms the paralyzed man below her.  
"It is only a slightly paralyzing nerve poison. You will be able to move again in a few minutes."

As if to confirm, he tries to lift his arm, probably with the intention of wrapping it around her and keeping her with him. She smiles at his attempt, places a tender kiss on his cheek and whispers gently in his ear.  
"I thank you for last night and... I don't know how... but somehow I will give the necklace back to your mother. But for now, we need it... to help someone else."  
And with those words, she stands up, collects her coat and her little black vintage bag and leaves the apartment. Before the door closes, she thinks she can hear him moaning her name.

After a few steps outside the building she can call a cab to her place. After she got in and told the driver her desired destination, she leans her head against the cool window pane and lets the tears run free.  
She feels her heart burst into smaller and smaller pieces with every meter she moves away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> So my dear friends of the sun. I actually want to say/write a few things about this chapter.
> 
> For those of you who may already know my other stories, the two cameos of Ti'es (aka Ties) and Sairah have attracted attention. I thought it was quite funny and we can assume that Ties dared to invite his crush to dinner. ^.-'
> 
> To the thing with the nerve poison I want to explain briefly...Rose had added a small box with this _nerve poison'_ to the key that was made after the event. (In wise foresight)  
> If you are wondering why the poison did not paralyze Rey when she applied it to her lips... There are two reasons for this in the story...  
> Firstly, she didn't put on the oil (I assume it's some kind of oil) until after she had applied lip gloss to her lips.  
> Secondly, I assume that Rey and Rose, through practice, have already developed a certain immunity to the paralyzing effect.
> 
> If you still have questions, you are welcome to ask them.
> 
> Until then...  
> Have a nice weekend and stay healthy!
> 
> Greetings to your Lori ❤️


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rebels have reached their goal. They have the precious Blue Butterfly... but what now?

Friday 10:37 am

Rey Niima

Arriving at Poe's apartment, she checks her face in a small hand mirror and wipes away her tears with a cloth. She can do without questions from her friends. The only important thing now is that they have the butterfly and leave the city as soon as possible.

Maybe she should also not mention her pursuers from last night. They would only worry unnecessarily. On the way up the stairs she already wonders why such a famous thief like Kylo Ren had her followed. In her opinion, she is not really in his league.

Once inside the apartment, Rose, Finn and Poe are sitting at the table again and look at her expectantly as soon as she enters the room. A victorious grin slowly forms on her face and she effectively opens her coat and presents the necklace that is still hanging on her neck.

The three of them burst out in cheers, Rose and Poe leap at her, kiss her on the cheek and embrace her. Finn even lifts her from her feet and whirls her around for a short time before he carefully takes the jewelry off her.  
"Hohhh! Come to Daddy!" he whispers to the chain, which he carefully spreads out on the table. Poe watches him excitedly as he brings out his precision magnifying glass.

Rey places her bag and coat on the kitchen sideboard, leans against it and looks around the room. Most things have already been packed into their respective suitcases and are ready to go.

"Say Poe...! What was that action yesterday at the opera? I don't think that your masks, as good as they are, can take a punch..." Rey asks and looks at him slightly rebuked.  
"You know... You looked so unhappy... I thought I'd help him out...... I think it was worth it for you too..."  
"No comment!" she says simply and looks away.  
He also leaves it at that and looks again at Finn and his magnifying glass.

When Rose approaches her, Rey ignores the knowing expression with which her best friend is watching her.  
"When and where are we going to meet Maz?" she asks to avoid the inevitable subject.  
Rose sees through her clumsy attempt, leans against the sideboard as well and answers her anyway.  
"At 12:00 am at the Mos Eisley Diner."  
They remain silent for a moment and watch Finn, who has to get Poe to come to his senses again and again to be able to concentrate on his work.

Rey reaches briefly into her bag and pushes the small barrel with the paralysis poison to Rose.  
"Thanks for that!" she mumbles soundlessly.  
Rose looks at the small object in her hand for a moment and then puts it aside.  
"I don't even have to ask if you had to use it."  
She speaks so softly that Finn and Poe cannot hear her.  
"You know... the boys don't have an eye for this but... I can see that you've been crying. You want to talk about it?"  
Rey looks stubbornly straight ahead and struggles not to cry again.  
"No!"  
Her voice breaks anyway and Rose puts one hand behind her back.  
It's such a soothing gesture that she's back on her feet in no time.

"What about you? I have a feeling that Mr. Hux is in the thick of it..."  
Rey now looks at her with a friendly, understanding look and is almost surprised when her friend lowers her head with a bright red face.  
"Well..." she starts and pushes a few strands behind her ear.  
"I really like him very much... and I will probably never see Armi again after this..."  
There is such a deep sadness in her voice that it only confirms Rey's assumption. Rose, just like Rey, made the mistake of falling in love.

"We have a problem!" Finn shouts in between before Rey can cheer Rose up.  
Everyone looks up to him and waits for further statements.  
Finn, who has just checked the butterfly through the magnifying glass, now looks rigidly straight ahead and gets a pale complexion despite his dark skin color.  
"This is a fake!"

Rey immediately runs towards him.  
"This cannot be...!"  
She takes the magnifying glass and the jewelry from him.  
"I checked the piece as soon as I took it out of the display case at the museum. This thing must be... Oh, my God! You're right, it's a fake ..." she says as she looks at the stones through the magnifying glass after only a moment. She now also looks straight ahead and tries to put the pieces together to find out in her mind what happened... Then it comes to her mind.

"Oh no!" she moans.  
"I don't like that sound!" says Poe commenting.  
"That miserable son of a bitch switched it!"  
_It can only be so! Ben has replaced the original with some kind of French drop...  
But if he planted a fake on me, he must have planned my escape... which means..._  
Rey first looks at the wrong butterfly in her hand and then opens her eyes in shock when she realizes what trap she may have fallen into.

She drops the chain and the magnifying glass on the table and runs past Rose and Poe towards the kitchen sideboard.  
"No, no, no, no, no, no, **NO!** " she almost screams as she rummages through her black vintage bag.  
"I don't like that sound even more." Poe says again.  
It occurs to her that Ben was never at her bag... as far as she can remember.

"Rey, what is it? Talk to us, you're really scaring us right now." Rose tries to tell her.  
Rey looks at her coat.  
**"NO!"** she really screams this time, jumps on her favorite piece of clothing and searches it.  
She finds what she is looking for under the collar. With a shock-pale face she turns to her friends, who stare at her just as frightened. Rey swallows hard and holds up her coat.

"That bastard has put a tracking device on my coat!"  
**"WHAT?"** it comes from all three.  
Sheer panic is reflected on all faces. Finn jumps up and runs, just like Rose, towards Ray's coat. Poe goes to the table and unfolds the laptop.  
Rose takes the small radio transmitter out of her collar, inspects it closely and can immediately recognize the make and model, which is a pitiful consolation considering that they are all pretty messed up right now!

And Rey..., she can't help but realize that her grief over her apparent betrayal of Ben is turning into horrified rage, at his own apparent betrayal.

"And now we have an even bigger problem!" says Poe as shocked as Rey was when she found the station.  
All three of them line up behind him and stare at the laptop showing the pictures from the surveillance camera in the stairwell.  
They show Ben Solo walking through the picture.  
He is almost there!  
They all look at each other with big eyes and wear the same question on their faces... _What now?_

Rey decides to decide.  
"Ok! Everybody go to the next room!" she says in a firm voice.  
"What? And leave you here alone with him?" Finn asks in horror.  
"Now go on! We don't have any great alternatives, in case you've forgotten! There's no fire escape or anything like that here and it's too late to climb up the ledge. Go into the next room and don't come out!"  
She is more urgent now that she knows that time is short.  
The three give in and move to the other room. Before they close the door behind them, they look at her with concern.  
"Trust me!" begs Rey with a friendly smile.

After they close the door, she sits down in front of the laptop, slams it shut and waits. After a few seconds there is a knock at the door. Rey remains sitting and waits.  
And indeed, after a short time he has already overcome the lock and carefully pushes the door open.

Rey rests her head on her hand and looks at him unimpressed as he puts his head through the door. He enters and stows a small case in his jacket. (Probably a lock pick set)  
After he has closed the door behind him, they watch a moment without comment until Rey breaks the silence.

"A tracking device? Seriously?!" she reproaches them.  
He raises his eyebrows.  
"It worked." he returns simply and with mild amusement.

Silence.

"A paralytic neurotoxin? Really?!" he says just as reproachfully.  
She can't help smiling.  
"It worked." she replies with blatant amusement.

Silence again.

"A fake?" she now asks very seriously and lifts the chain.  
He just nods.  
"Ben! Where is the butterfly?"  
"On its way to RI... to my mother."  
Rey takes a deep breath, purses her lips and says: "Well, I hate to admit it... but you fooled me... not many people can do that... And now what?"

As he walks towards her, she stands up. He carefully lifts his arm and strokes a lost strand behind her ear.  
"Now I have to take you to jail."  
The regret in his voice is clear. She begins to tremble slightly.

"But what if I don't want to go to prison?" she breathes and leans her head lightly against his hand, which is still lingering on her cheek.  
"I don't want to have you locked up." he whispers.  
"Well?"  
"If you testify against your team, it may save you from greater reprisals."

Rey feels for a moment like she was kicked in the stomach.  
Determined, she pushes his hand away and looks at him angrily.  
"Never!" is all she says before she rushes past him to grab her stuff from the sideboard.

But Ben doesn't let her get any further. He grabs her by the arm, turns her around and grabs her wrists.  
"Why not? If you testify against them, the..."  
**"NO!"** she screams.

"I cannot possibly betray them!" she says and tries to fight her hands off him.  
"Why? Do they have you with anything in their hands? Are they blackmailing you...? Rey! I want to help you... I..."  
Finally she can free her arms and screams her next words out: **"I would never betray them! Because they are my family!"**

Ben watches in shock as the first tears steal across Rey's cheek.  
"My parents left me on a playground when I was a child and never came back... My friends are the only family I know, they are always there for me! And I would rather go to prison than betray them!"

With her last words he pulls her face to his chest and holds her tight until she returns the hug, clings to his jacket and cries unrestrainedly on his shirt.  
He gently strokes her back and gives her light kisses on the head until she calms down somewhat.

"Rey... I meant it when I put the chain on you... I fell in love with you... and I don't want to see you in prison!"  
After he confessed, she cried even harder.  
As she is shaken by her sobs, he puts his arms around her and holds her tightly.

How could this happen?  
She has never let her feelings guide her so much.  
How could they fall in love with each other?  
There is something about him that makes her feel terribly small and vulnerable. But she knows that she is safe and secure in his arms.

"But you and your team are just too talented. They'll never let you run free."   
Another long silence in which Rey inhales his wonderful scent. How can this man smell so much like fresh rain?

"Unless..."  
His changed tone urges Rey to look up to him. His gaze is directed into the distance and he seems to be straining to think about something.  
"Ben?!" she is insecure.  
"Just too talented..." he mumbles more to himself.

"I might have an idea."  
He still won't look at her.  
Then he takes her face in his hands, gives her a quick kiss on the lips and looks at her with glowing eyes.  
"Don't leave the city! I'll be back." he says, then hurries out of the apartment, leaving behind a completely bewildered Rey... who is actually longing for his warmth for a moment.

It is quiet for a while, while Rey looks at the closed door as if spellbound.  
"Rey...?" it comes very carefully from Rose, who stands in front of her with the boys and stares at her expectantly.  
"What now Rey Rey?" Poe asks calmly.

She looks at her three friends, her family, with big eyes.  
Rose, who is always there for her like a sister, and through Hux, feels as much the same as she does with Ben.

Poe, who has always been like a big brother ..., like a guardian for them. Who, despite his own quirks and failures, has always taken care of everyone. And who gave up everything to join her and Finn.

And Finn... her Finn! Who had freed her from hell with his uncle Lando... before things could get any worse. The Finn who showed her that home doesn't have to be a place. The Finn... who gave her a home when she needed it most.

She swallows the tears that are forming again in her eyes and overcomes the lump that is forming in her throat to answer in a firm voice.  
"Let's pack up and get out of town!"  
"What about Maz?" asks Finn.  
Rey shakes her head.  
"Forget Maz! We have to get out of town as fast as possible!"

Fortunately, they hadn't protested further. They had stowed their equipment in the car, a black and inconspicuous SUV, and set off.

Poe is driving, Finn is the passenger and Rose and Rey are sitting in the back seat.  
After a few blocks Rose grabs her hand and wants to say something as...

"Damn it! What the..." Poe ejects as he pulls the steering wheel sharply to the left, brakes and barely misses the two police cars that line up in front of them and block both lanes.  
"Turn around!" cries Finn frantically.  
But it is already too late. Two police cars also appear behind them and lock them up.

"Rey..." Rose whimpers desperately and squeezes her hand.

It feels like a nightmare for her. They are ordered to get out.  
She sees Rose's tear-stained face, Poe, who looks at everyone with worry before they open the doors and get out with their hands up. She sees Finn looking at her with reddened eyes as he leans against the car with raised amrs, just like she and the others.

She climbs up her back in sheer panic. Her instinct advises her to flee. And she would probably make it. But the others...  
No! It would only make things worse.

Remotely, she watches as someone steps behind her and pats her down in an unpleasant way... as her arms are brutally turned on her back... as they handcuff her... as her rights are read to her... and as she is led to one of the police cars.

As soon as the car door closes behind her, she knows that everything is over!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Well... When I wrote this chapter, I'v cried... T.T.
> 
> I hope you all have a nice Saturday.
> 
> Everybody stay healthy.
> 
> Greets, your Lori ❤️


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will happen now that the rebels have been arrested by the police?

Friday 3:24 pm

Jyn Erso

After an extensive database search, certain connections were found between a certain Poe Dameron, Finn Storm, who has been on the screen for a few days, and Miss Rey Niima.

When they received a tip early in the morning that Mr. Storm hadn't shown up at work, they quickly continued their research and found the address to an apartment that was in Dameron's name. They apparently arrived just in time to catch the whole gang on the run. In the apartment they found the necklace and a tracking device that they could not yet assign.  
Why they left the loot behind is still a mystery, especially since not a single one of the group says a word.

Even after hours of _interrogation_ , if you want to call it that, they are still silent. Since both Jyn and Cassian, who is much more level-headed, have lost their patience, they decide to get the four of them talking together in an interrogation room. After they have been placed in a room one after the other with their arms tied behind their backs, Jyn and Cassian want to go straight into the room with two coffees.

**"ERSO! ANDOR!"** that came from their captain.  
"To my office now!" he orders from his door.  
"But Captain... we were just..." Cassian starts.  
 **"I'v said now!"** he yells in a tone that does not allow any contradiction.

If that is so... they would later look at the surveillance images of the room to see how the four of them have interacted.

What they do not see is that another group is already on its way to the interrogation room.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

3:25 pm

Rey Niima

It is simply humiliating!

Rey has been in this profession since she was a child.  
When she was 12, she was caught picking pockets after school and had to run away from a bobby... At that time she had learned that it was a very stupid idea to steal from such a bobby. He had taken it kind of personal.

But she was like that... even as a child.  
Always looking for a challenge, always new and more and more dangerous ways. But with all the crap she was supposed to do for Unkar as a child and the four years she's been on the road with Finn, Poe and Rose, neither she nor any of them were ever arrested by the police.

And now?! After the capture, they were put into four separate rooms and questioned one after the other by the detectives, none of them saying a word.  
This is pretty much the only and most important thing they had agreed on earlier. If they were ever arrested, no one should ever say a word!

Rey trusts them, they would keep quiet, just as she did. So it was not really surprising when some uniformed men came into the room, pushed the table into the corner, put three more chairs next to her and led her friends (also handcuffed on their backs) inside. The police officers left the room and everyone remained silent.

To the left of Rey is Finn and at the end Poe and to her right Rose.  
It is not fair to the others! They never hurt anyone. They have always made sure of that. For Rey there has always been a clear line between a robber and a thief.  
A robbery implies a certain amount of violence, among other things.  
A theft, on the other hand... goes unnoticed for the time being. The victim only notices the absence of the valuable object when the thief is already long gone. (At least this is the case with a good theft).

And Rey and the rebels only sold their stolen art objects when they needed the money... Mostly to finance the thefts of already stolen objects and then return these objects to their rightful owners.  
Very often these are works of art that were confiscated by Nazis during the Holocaust. Or valuable items that were expropriated from interned Japanese at the same time.

And now they sit here and wait for another round of _Well, who won't want to talk?_

When the door opens and a big shaggy-haired Scotsman enters the room, Rey's eyes almost fall out of her head. _Chewy!_  
The hairy giant, who is so big that he has to bend down through the door, stands in the corner next to the door... and covers the security camera with his mane, as Rey realizes with astonishment.

After him, none other than Ben Solo enters the room, followed by Leia Organa-Solo, his mother and Han Solo, his father and then...  
 **"MAZ!"** exclaim all four in amazement.

The little dark-skinned woman, with the huge lenses, stands smiling in front of them, while Leia sits down on the only free chair, Ben leans against the table and Han stands in the other corner next to the door.

"You have gotten yourselves into quite a mess." she remarks.  
"Which one of you little idiots had the stupid idea to steal the Blue Butterfly?"  
Everyone looks at her in bewilderment and slowly Rose, Rey and Finn's heads turn to the left.

"Yes! Okay... It was my idea!" Poe barks.  
"But it wasn't as stupid as you say it was." he adds with a slight pride.  
"But you got caught." she replies, but adds: "But you couldn't have known that you would be chased by Kylo Ren."

Now all four of them look up at the little woman with their eyebrows drawn together.  
As she turns her head to the right, Rey becomes very aware of some things.  
For one thing, Ben is not only very familiar with her profession, but also used to work in it himself.  
Secondly, that he chased the two men onto her neck last night. Which makes her very angry.   
And also... _Ben Solo is Kylo Funking Ren_!  
And all this makes the quiet giggles of the others even more humiliating.

Leia and Ben look at the three who have to stop laughing in bewilderment.  
It is Poe who breaks the giggling silence.  
"Has she asked you for an autograph yet?" he asks Ben.  
"Shut up, Poe!" she almost yells at him.  
Now the Solo family looks at Rey in wonder.

Maz chuckles slightly.  
"Our little Rey has always had a little soft spot for Kylo Ren."  
 **"No, I haven't!"** screams Rey with a bright red head and looks down.  
She can't possibly look at Ben's shit-eating grin now that he's probably sitting up.

But the giggling of her (so-called) friends gets louder and louder and then Finn spans the bow.  
"Come on! You used to have an album where you collected the newspaper articles about him." He chuckles... and then. **"OUH!"** he yells after Rey has chased her heel into his foot.  
Rose and Poe also fall silent, especially at the sight of her murderous expressions.

"When we've cleared that up...," Leia interrupts and draws attention to herself.  
"...we can get to the reason why we're here."  
A short silence develops, in which the rebels pattern her expectantly.

"It seems that each one of you is talented in his own special way. And together you seem to be doing very efficient work."  
She looks at each one in turn (and examines).  
"I would like to expand our investigation department and hire you for this purpose."

"You're offering us a job?" Finn blurts out.  
"Yes, Mr. Storm."  
"But what about the police? Our hands are literally tied right now." Poe asks.  
"That's already being taken care of. We've also booked rooms for each of you, in the same hotel where Miss Niima was staying. And we will provide an apartment for each of them you..."  
"One apartment!" Poe interrupts them.

"One apartment, four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen..., maybe two bathrooms... We work best when we are together... like a family."  
In his last words, Rey notices that he looks at her briefly out of the corner of his eye. Her tears almost fall as Finn and Rose nod in agreement.

Maz smiles friendly and Leia looks at the group with astonishment.  
"All right, that can be done. But we still have to clarify if you carry any old burdens with you."  
"Burdens of the past?" Finn asks.  
"We have to do something in Argentina." says Rose, who obviously understood this question correctly.  
"I've already heard about your _contracts_ in Argentina and I'm sure we can do that."  
(a short explanation about Argentina https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II_aftermath) )

Then Rey gets involved.  
"Before we agree to work for you... I want to say something."  
Leia now looks directly at her and Rey has to pull herself together not to break the eye contact.  
"I'm sorry we stole the butterfly... we didn't know what it meant to you."  
Leia looks in the direction of her son, then thinks for a moment and smilingly replies: "I appreciate a sincere apology. Thanks Rey!"

Leia Organa-Solo is a deeply impressive woman, with a strong will and great expressiveness. Rey notices that she admires this woman.

"However, you will not be working for me directly."  
"Then who are we working for?" Poe asks.  
"For the head of the investigation department."  
Rey has an idea what that means.  
"And who is the unfortunate head of the investigation department?" asks Finn.

Before anyone can answer, Rey stands up.  
"That would be you?" she asks Ben.  
"Yes." He simply answers.  
"So we would work for you?" she continues, with a somewhat aggressive tone.  
"Yes, that's right."  
His greasy grin almost drives her crazy. She needs to take a deep breath to focus as she walks towards him.

She is now standing directly in front of him and looks up with a smile. (Always making sure that Finn, Rose and Poe see her back).  
"This reminds me somehow of our conversation last night in the limousine." she says in a sugary voice.  
He has to think for a moment and finally comes to his promises, saying _that her ass would soon belong to him_. She wonder if he remembers her reaction?  
"Well... I guess I was right in principle." (No, he did not remember her reaction!)

His smug smile fades the moment Rey presses her knee into his crotch with full force.  
With an "Ouhhh...!" he exhales his entire lung volume and bends forward in pain.  
"That's for having me followed!" she says in a soundless voice and goes back to her seat.

Finn and Poe, who made about the same _ouhhh sound_ as Ben, when he kicked, look at her with shocked faces.  
Poe leans towards Ben and mumbles to him: "From personal experience ..., I know how much this hurts."

He really does. When he first met Rey and Finn, he had completely misunderstood their interest and was also allowed to make the acquaintance of Rey's knee when he placed his hand ( devastatingly ) on their bottom.

Finn breathes pressed: "Dude...! Peanut!"  
Rose, on the other hand, just twists her eyes.  
"Do you feel better now?" she asks as the brunette sits down again.  
Rey takes a deep breath of relief and answers calmly and satisfied: "Essential!

"I guess," Maz begins, directed at Leia who stares at Rey with big eyes.  
"...he deserved that!"  
"Well." She clears her throat. "Grandchildren are also completely overrated these days!" she mumbles back.

Meanwhile, Ben has turned around and is leaning against the table with both hands.  
Every now and then he gives a quiet gasp.  
"To come back to the job offer..." Leia changes the subject again.

For a moment they look at each other in silence.  
"I'd say... we'll settle this, as usual! Purely diplomatic." Rey suggests.  
The others nod in agreement.  
"So... whoever is for it, raise your hand!" she says and the next second, everyone raises their right hand... handcuff-free!

Ben and Leia look at them in shock as they all grin and hold their left hand in front of the handcuff still dangling.  
Maz and Han laugh out loud.  
"I guess it was unanimous." Rey says cheerfully.

"These are my kids!" Maz proudly exclaims. With the thin little metal pins ( each one hidden in an inconspicuous part of their clothes) they open the other half of their involuntary arm jewelry.  
Rey had given the signal to do so when she got up to _talk_ to Ben. She held her small pen, visible to her, between two fingers.

"I think the question of qualifications has been resolved." says Han, who has recovered his breath after his laughing fit.  
"Good!" begins Leia, who has caught herself again.  
"Do you have any questions before the lawyer comes?"  
"Yes, I have one!" Finn blurts out.

Everyone looks at him spellbound.  
"What name was on the package?"  
Ben and Leia seem confused.  
Rey moans.  
"Are you serious?"  
"Of course he's serious." Rose babbles in the middle.  
"After all, it's $20. This is serious." Poe adds.  
"You guys are stupid! All three of you!" Rey says quickly.  
"Yes, but that's why you love us... so? The name?" And so Finn addresses the last words back to Ben, who has apparently made a full recovery.

Rey leans back annoyed in her chair, crosses her legs and puts the handcuffs on her knees.  
"Holly Golightly." he says, still slightly confused.

"YES!" Finn cheers, jumps up and pumps with both arms into the air. Rose and Poe, on the other hand, twist their eyes and moan.  
"Rey Rey! Seriously... Holly Golightly?"  
"I don't know what you have against the name. _Walter Dyle_!" she emphasizes the name with extra rejection.  
"What's wrong with the name?" asks Rose.   
"It makes perfect sense."  
"It's a mash-up," she says without much explanation.  
Poe looks busted.

Ben slaps his flat hand against his forehead.  
"But of course! Walter Matthau played Carson Dyle in the movie Charade! I knew that name sounded familiar."  
"A connoisseur of the cinema...," Poe remarks with admiration.  
"You're a good match!" he adds, and before Rey can make a snappy comment... the door jumps open.

**"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"** Jyn Erso asks angrily as she enters the room and sees the happily dancing Finn first.  
"Who took off their handcuffs?" asks Cassian Andor, who stands behind her and points to Rey's knees.  
"Oh dear! Suddenly they were just off." says Rey with an innocent expression.

"Well, we'll see how. If we check the tapes..." while Jyn is talking, she turns her head and freezes..., in front of the sheer size of Chewy.  
"That's not true...?!" she says dryly.

"Well, really!" Leia says with a slightly reprehensive tone and looks up at her employee.  
"Charls Bacca! Now you have covered the camera with your shaggy head all the time. Now how are the detectives supposed to find out how the handcuffs came off?"  
You have to give the woman credit for one thing, she has a fascinating way of annoying others!

Jyn looks as if she would explode with rage at any moment.  
"That doesn't matter at all! We'll charge them anyway... all four of them!"  
"I can't wait to hear the indictment." Says a new voice.

A tall, slim, long-haired blonde in a lilac costume, with a grey-green cardigan and a couple of Louboutins enters the room with her head held high.  
In her hand she holds a leather briefcase and radiates absolute authority and professionalism with every fiber of her body. Rey likes her for the designer shoes alone.

"And who are you again?" Jyn hisses through clenched teeth.  
"Amilyn Holdo. And I'm not at all pleased that you interviewed my clients without legal representation."   
Holdo's voice is firm and doesn't allow for dissent.  
"What kind of questioning? They didn't say a word." complains Cassian.  
"That's their right! What are they actually accused of?"

"Conspiracy to commit larceny." Jyn is still angry.  
"I see. And what proof do you have?"  
"We have the stolen goods." says the policewoman triumphantly and lifts an evidence bag with the alleged Blue Butterfly.  
"Oh yes. By the way, this is a fake!" Finn says almost casually after he has sat down again.  
"That can't be..."  
"That's true." Leia interrupts Jyn's renewed flare-up.

Before someone can say another word, they hear a louder and louder commotion from outside.  
"No, sir! You can't go in there...!"  
"Where is she? This can't be right! Let me through! Miss Tico would never... Rosie!" sounds the excited voice of a red-haired man who is not held back by two policemen and storms into the room.

"Armi!" exclaims Rose, jumps up and throws himself into his spread-out arms.  
While Hux takes her firmly in his arms, Rey can hear Finn and Poe's deep breathing next to him and turns around just in time.  
"Shut up! Both of you!" she murmurs to them before they can comment on the situation in their own way.  
As she turns away from them again, her gaze brushes against Ben's. The intensity with which he looks at her makes her blush.

"They told me that you were arrested but... no matter what they accuse you of..."  
Rose interrupts him with her fingers on his mouth.  
"Armi, I'll explain everything to you later... but what you need to know is... that what I told you about my feelings... was not a lie!" she says softly and gives him a sweet little kiss that makes him turn almost as red as his hair.  
And Rey can tell from her voice that she is telling the absolute truth.

"Oh Rosie! I will do everything to get you out of here! I'll get you the best lawyer..."  
"She already has it!" murmurs Amilyn Holdo in between.  
"...I will be your character witness, if necessary..."  
"We should talk about this, Mr. Hux!"  
The lawyer holds out her hand in greeting.  
"Amilyn Holdo! I am the attorney for these four, and I am happy to accept their character witness statement."

"Can anyone explain the crowd in my interrogation room? **Erso! Andor!** " yells a man with thick horn-rimmed glasses and a long, sinuous mustache, which looks more like the beard of a catfish.

The two detectives cannot react fast enough before the man sees Holdo and Leia and suddenly greets them very friendly.  
The two Solo men, Chewy and Maz are also greeted.  
 _How do they all know each other?_

Gial Ackbar is police captain and the superior of Jyn and Cassian.  
"Well Holdo. What are we charging your client with today?" he asks the lawyer, joking friendly.  
"Theft, it seems to me. But your investigators have no evidence." she gives it back objectively.

"Is that so?" he asks them.  
"We have the stolen goods!" Jyn says and lifts the evidence bag again.  
"This must be a fake!" Hux interferes and continues in a blasé tone.  
"The Blue Butterfly was delivered to the museum about two hours ago and has already been checked for authenticity."  
"You are the museum director? Mister... Hux?!" states Ackbar.  
"Yes, sir."

"Well, if this is a fake...? Why are we still holding these four?" that goes back to Jyn and Cassian.  
"We can still..." the young man begins, addressing Hux.  
"The butterfly is on loan, isn't it?"  
"Yes..." replies the man confused.  
"Well, at least we have proof that they planned the theft together. If we talk to the owner of the necklace, we can convince him to file charges." he suggests and Rey suspects that they have already lost.

"That's not going to happen!" Leia answers, as expected.

"Oh, and how do you know that?" poisons Jyn indignantly.  
"Because the butterfly is my property."   
As she talks, she stands up.  
"And I wouldn't dream of pressing charges against anyone. Amilyn! Can we go then?"  
This one just looks at Ackbar, who nods just barely, takes his detectives aside and lets the group step out of the room.

The rebels can't resist pressing their released handcuffs into the hands of the two police officers as they walk.  
Rose and Hux say goodbye in front of the door before the redhead wants to go with the lawyer to make a character reference as...

"Wait, please!" Poe calls out to the lawyer.  
Behind him are only Rey and Ben, who helps her into her coat. (... how gallant!)  
The others (i.e. Leia, Han, Chewy, Maz, Rose and Finn) are already standing in front of the elevator door.

"Is it Mrs Holdo or Miss...?  
Poe speaks in such a honey-soft voice that everyone in the immediate vicinity looks around for him.  
An uncomfortable silence develops in which Holdo completely overtaxes him and stares at him with huge eyes.

Rey is the first to escape from speechlessness.  
"Please just ignore what he said and move on quickly!" she almost begs.  
"Gladly!" the lawyer answers, turns on her heel and walks away in a hurry.

With the back of her hand Rey hits Poe's upper arm.  
"Poe! You can't do that again! You get us into trouble every time! The last time you pulled a stunt like that, you climbed half-naked onto a windowsill on the 16th floor, from which I had to save you because the husband came home." she blames him and just can't get that stupid grin off his face.

"What is it? What then? I've obviously learned... I asked her if she was married."  
"Pooooe!" yelps Rey.  
The addressed man holds his hands up in defense, pats one of Rey's shoulders and looks up briefly at Ben who is still standing behind her.  
"All right! Stay calm! I won't get us into trouble... It's not like I'm sleeping with our boss." he says with a wink and quickly walks to the waiting group at the elevator.

_Oh man! What an idiot!_

Silently Ben and Rey also go to the waiting group.  
Ben is gentleman enough not to talk about Poe's stupid comment.

He's right about one thing. She sleeps with their boss... slept?  
But will it happen again?  
Does she want it to happen again?  
Does he want it to happen again?

They'd have to talk about it...  
Does she want that?  
Does he?

But what if he doesn't?  
If this was just a one-time thing for him??  
He said that he loved her... no, that he fell in love with her...  
What if that is no longer the case?  
What if he's just her boss now and she's his employee?  
A frightening thought!  
If he rejects her... she leaves... like her parents did...

She thinks about it even further while waiting for the elevator and almost has to hold back a few tears until Rose leans discreetly towards her and whispers to her inconspicuously.  
"If you keep chewing on your lip like that, it'll fall off!"

Rey, slightly startled, lets her lower lip free, moves her tongue over it and can clearly feel the teeth marks.  
Fortunately, the elevator door opens and she is distracted.

Han, Leia and Chewy get in first and stand against the back wall of the elevator.  
Ben, Rey and Rose stand in front of them and Poe, Finn and Maz stand in front of the door.

"Hey! Look! Don't you think they look kind of pissed off?" Finn points to Jyn and Cassian who are watching them from across the room.  
Poe, Finn, Rose and Rey grin. Each raises a fist and clenches it with the others.  
It may not be a victory all down the line but... they didn't get caught!  
The last thing they see before the doors close is Jyn, who angrily throws the evidence bag on the floor.

While driving down the 6 floors, Poe stretches his neck a little.  
"Whoa! I'm so hungry!"  
"Me too!" Rose admits.  
"I'm in the mood for pancakes now!"  
"What?! Pancakes for lunch?" Poe asks in horror.  
"What? I haven't had breakfast today. I want pancakes now!" she whimpers.   
"You know, I saw a diner not far from here." informs Finn.  
"If you're good, you'll invite me for dinner!" says Maz with a raised finger.  
"Maz! We're always good. And I'll buy you dinner... I just won $20."

They discuss their behavior in Maz's eyes for a while, the merits of pancakes over waffles and other banalities.  
But Rey didn't even catch the beginning of the conversation. (Even though it was all about food the whole time).

As soon as Ben's hand touched her fingers, she was engulfed in this little touch. At first it was just her fingers, then he gently pushed his hand into hers, and as soon as his fingers crossed hers... no more questions need to be asked!  
He will not let her go! And she will not leave!  
This is exactly where she belongs.  
Maybe this city has just become her home...

Leia watches with growing enthusiasm how her son's fingers, very carefully, close up with those of Miss Niima.  
Radiantly she looks up at her husband, who seems to have observed the whole thing. With his typical crooked smile, he winks at her and Leia thinks it might be time to get her mother's engagement ring out of the safe.   
Just in case... You never know...

In front of the police station Han and Leia first said goodbye and got into the limousine to Chewy.  
Maz had promised them to drop the _kids_ off at the hotel after dinner.  
Rey declined the pancake offer. She said that there was a chocolate cake waiting for her and ... Chokoholic fudgecake beats pancakes!  
The boys first wanted to protest but were dragged away by Rose after she discovered Ben and Rey's intertwined hands.

After they left, Rey turned to Ben and they looked at each other in silence for a while.  
"Shall we walk or take a cab to my apartment?" Ben asks cautiously.  
Rey giggles slightly.  
"It probably depends..."  
"For what?" he asks curiously.  
She leans forward to him, grabs his jacket with one hand and draws herself even closer. She gives him a sweet little kiss on the lips and with her free hand she pushes his hair behind his ear on one side.  
He holds her at the waist.

Carefully she spreads light kisses from the corner of his mouth, across his jaw, until her lips float next to his ear.  
Quietly she whispers, "How quickly you want me in your apartment."  
She takes his earlobe very tentatively between her teeth and pulls lightly on it, which elicits a soft guttural groan.

She had guessed that this would happen, but is nevertheless a little startled when he suddenly raises his arm and shouts loudly: **"TAXI!**

The end...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> No, this is not quite the end!
> 
> Tomorrow then the epilogue...
> 
> Have a nice Sunday,
> 
> Your Lori ❤️


	13. Epilogue

Despite some difficulties, the rebels have settled in well.  
Rey initially had some small disagreements with Leia, but they were able to iron them out with a conversation over lunch.  
Leia likes Rey, very much so, but Ben is still her son.

When Ben anxiously asked her after this lunch what came out of the conversation, Rey just smiled at him calmly and said: "Don't worry! It was just a conversation between two women who love you."  
Ben immediately raised his head and looked at her like a car.  
It has always been hard for Rey to express her feelings... unless it's about food... But she just told him for the first time that she loved him.  
The smile with which he beamed at her afterwards made her heart beat a few octaves faster.

The rebels apartment is fantastic. Just as Poe had wished. Loft apartment, with a large open kitchen, to an even larger living room, and a staircase leading to a gallery with four bedrooms. And even with two bathrooms.

Rey likes the loft... but sleeps there relatively rarely. After spending the first weekend with Ben in his apartment, living on air, love, and delivery food, she could not sleep well without him.  
After her first real case (in which a valuable Faberge egg was stolen that they had to get back) she agreed to stay in the loft while she worked on a case and the rest of the time with Ben.

Ben also has a clearly defined dress code at his place... if you want to call it that.  
Either she wears one of Ben's shirts (which are getting tighter and tighter because he keeps ripping them off her body impatiently) or nothing at all.

Each of the rebels had their own department in which they worked ( even though they were mainly assigned to the investigation department).  
Rose works in the IT department and improved the network of Resistance Insurance to Pentagon level.  
Poe got his own laboratory where he can make his masks and improved his technology a lot.  
Finn started to evaluate the valuables insured by the company, and the knowledge his uncle taught him is very helpful.

Only Rey was very bored in the beginning, because there are no everyday tasks for her to do.  
Han, who has always been a scoundrel in his own way, had taken her a few times and led her around the underworld of Chandrila. She had met many people and learned a lot.  
She realized that she liked it when he called her Kid and with time, he became something of a father-substitute for her.

Apart from that, Rey roamed around the RI corporate building a lot. She visited Rose, Finn, and Poe at their workplaces, who had much less time for them with their new responsibilities than before. Which doesn't mean that they could spend much time with her before. Why else did Rey get into the habit of going to the movies alone.

Ben also has to work a lot and has only little opportunity to spend time with her during the day. Mainly because his mother is pushing him more and more, since he will take over the company in the not foreseeable future. But now and then she sneaks into his office and locks the door behind her unnoticed.  
When she sits provocatively next to him on his desk, he usually mumbles, without really looking up that this is a desk and not a chair. Whereupon she takes off her shoes and moves her feet up his thigh.

It is always a welcome change when he fucks her on his desk. But once they were almost caught by his mother, they had to stop this activity.

Since then she spends most of the day in his office, reading books or magazines or helping him with his work, which he now introduces her to.

She and Rose have become friends with Kaydel Connix, who is Leia's personal assistant. She is a friendly girl who regularly provides her with the latest office gossip.  
When the three arranged to meet for a girls night out, Rey convinced Ben, who has always had few male acquaintances, to go out with Finn and Poe.  
As it turned out, the three got along quite well. They had gone to a sports bar where Finn had fallen for the barmaid Jannah.

Rose and Hux took things slowly. They dated often and very often Finn and Poe spent the nights alone in the loft.  
At some point Hux had asked Rey to come to the museum for a private conversation. And as she expected, he tried to ask her about Rose's jewelry preferences. Unfortunately, he did it very clumsily, which led Rey to start talking to him after lunch.

"Listen, Hux! Rose likes red gold. Her ring size is 6.1 and she really likes rose patterns. If you break her heart, I will break something else painfully... or kill you and bury your body somewhere where nobody will find it!"  
Hux looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment, swallowed hard and thanked in a soundless voice.

She had never told Rose about this meeting and was actually waiting every day for her to finally come rushing towards her with a pretty red-gold ring on her finger, beaming with joy to announce that this idiot had finally proposed to her.

At some point, Rey had read a note on Kaydel's desk that Leia was expecting Amilyn Holdo for an interview in a week.  
She had thought about it for two days and then talked to Rose. Together they cooked up a little prank.

Luckily, the appointment with Holdo was in the early evening, shortly after work and so the elevator was almost unused.

Rose had hacked into the elevator control and Rey had, under a pretext, guided Poe to the elevator at about the time Miss Holdo wanted to leave the building after her meeting with Leia.

After they both entered the elevator and the doors closed, Rose took control of the elevator from her laptop. She had stopped the elevator between the 17th and 18th floors.

Unfortunately, Han and Leia noticed the elevator stopped when they tried to leave the building themselves. Kaydel, who was privy to the plan, called the maintenance service with a queasy feeling.  
Finn, who happened to be passing by, overheard the confusion and offered to get Rose to get the elevator running again.  
When he couldn't find her in her office and learned from the maintenance department who was locked in the elevator, he had an idea of what was going on.  
Then he ran through the entire building looking for the two jokers.

He finally found them in Poe's lab, bent over the laptop and giggling like crazy.  
He got them to get the elevator running again before they were discovered and got into real trouble.

After Amilyn left the building, Poe went straight to his lab where Finn, Rose and Rey were already waiting for him. The last two could hardly resist laughing.  
With his finger raised, he pointed first at Rose and then at Rey.  
"I promise you, Rey! I will pay you back some day!" he said half-seriously, grabbed his jacket and was about to leave when he stopped in the doorway and added: "And thank you!"

Poe and Amilyn had actually met more often since then and started a semi-secret liaison.

With Finn, Rey was already planning her next prank. After Poe told her about his infatuation with Jannah, she met Rose and Kaydel for lunch at the Sports Bar and initiated the barmaid into her little plan, who happily agreed.

And so it was that one Wednesday afternoon, when the rebels had been employed by RI for over six months, Ben went to his mother's office and found Rose and Rey leaning against Kaydel's desk. Her expression had warned him.  
"The way you're standing there, you'd think you were just waiting for the popcorn and the show." he said with a slight suspicion.

To his surprise, Poe appeared behind him the next moment with four small bowls of ... popcorn, which he distributed to the girls.  
"Did I miss anything? Is he there yet?" Poe asks out of breath.  
"Rey! What are you doing?" Ben asked very irritated. After the little prank with Holdo in the elevator, he wasn't very keen on such actions.

"Relax... they're all harmless! Stand next to me and come out of the picture!"  
Taking a deep breath he obeyed and looked with them at the corridor and the elevator door.  
A short ringing makes them all turn around.  
When the phone rings, Kaydel picks up the receiver, listens for a moment and then thanks the receptionist in the foyer, apparently.

"She is in the elevator and on her way."  
"Good, Mitaka should be here any moment."

Ben got a bad feeling. Since he had accidentally paired Kaydel and Mitaka, the two have been a couple, but his mother hadn't taken it so well. She said Kaydel was always too distracted and didn't really concentrate on her work anymore. Which isn't quite true, after all the distraction comes from Rey and from time to time from Rose. Apart from that, her work performance has not suffered in the least.

The next moment Mitaka and Finn turn the corner. Finn seems to be busy explaining something to the nervous young man until he sees the waiting crowd standing outside the boss's office.  
Mitaka immediately changes direction and disappears and Finn stands there and suspects something bad.

"What are you doing?" he asks suspiciously.

But in the next moment the elevator door opens and Jannah enters the hall.  
Finn is immediately captivated by the sight of her. Radiant, she walks towards him.  
"Hi, Finn!" she says cheerfully.  
But the person she is talking to only looks at her with big eyes.  
"I just happened to be passing by and wanted to ask if you would like to have lunch with me." she suggests.

It takes Finn about half a minute to reboot his processor. After that he makes a slight squeaking sound that is probably a "yes." should be.  
Rose, Rey and Poe have to stop laughing and watch with interest as Finn follows her into the elevator after he has pressed out a halfway understandable "Yes, I'd love to."

After the doors have closed, they can no longer hold back. The three of them start laughing out loud and sometimes hold their bellies.  
"Did you hear the noise he made?" exclaims Rey with a grin.  
"I swear! I almost peed myself just now!" Rose exhales with a heavy breath.  
"I almost feel guilty... but only almost!" says Poe, who wipes tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.  
"I think the two go well together." says Kaydel, who was the only one who could behave herself.

The next moment, the door to his mother's office blows open.  
" **What on earth are you doing here?** " she exclaims.  
Immediately everyone stands at attention and stares at her with guilty big eyes.  
They apologize in unison and look embarrassed at the floor.

"Can I talk to you mother?" Ben asks, passes the three of them and closes the door behind him.

A little later that day, when Rey is sitting at his desk again, he asks her why she plays such tricks on her friends.  
"You know... I just don't want them to be lonely. I mean, Rose has Hux... I have you..." she says with a slight pout, stroking her foot over his knee.  
"I just want them to be as rooted here as Rose and I are..."  
Somehow he can understand her...

After a few days the rebels receive their next order.  
They are summoned to Leia's office and appear almost simultaneously before they enter the double door.  
Behind them a surprise awaits them.

"Uncle Lando!" Finn and Rey shouted in the choir. The elegantly dressed old man gets up from the couch and takes the two firmly in his arms. For a moment he pats Rey's cheek and looks at her from top to bottom.  
"My goodness Rey! You've turned into a real beauty." Rey blushed with a grin and lowered her head, giggling.

"And you must be the talented Miss Tico! My nephew has already told me so much about you." he says to Rose and shakes her hand in greeting.  
"Thank you so much. I have heard a lot about you too, Sir." she answers politely.  
The next moment, however, all politeness disappears from Landos eyes.  
"Ah! Mr. Dameron!" he says, barely directed at Poe, who just grins at him.

"I've already heard that he doesn't like you, but what's the reason for that?" Rose whispers to Poe, who leans over to her and answers just as quietly.  
"He thinks I'm a bad influence on Finn... and Rey..."

She looks at him without understanding.  
"You... a bad influence on Rey? She can handle it all by herself..."  
"Hello! I can hear you!" Rey whispers in between.  
"Me too, by the way!" Leia closes in a loud voice and leaves everyone standing at attention.

Ben and Han, who are also standing in the room, hide a giggle by coughing into their fists.

Leia explains their new mission to them and Ben hands each of them a file. Rey studies the file carefully and doesn't notice that the other three are truncating because of something in the file and first look at each other and then at Ben, who just nods silently at them.

The commission is a stolen precious art nouveau ring in white gold with an elegant leaf pattern and a high-carat diamond.  
It seems to be currently in a private villa outside the city and is well guarded.  
Rey reads through all the important information about the floor plan of the house and the security system, but lets her gaze wander back to the image of the ring again and again and has to admit to herself that she finds the piece very beautiful.

Ben had tried to present her with jewelry twice in the past six months, but failed miserably on both occasions.  
One time it was a necklace with a heart medallion with a small diamond inside and the other time it was a diamond bracelet. She _found_ the jewelry beautiful each time... and even before he wanted to give it to her.  
He had left the medallion in his jacket (... with the receipt), which he put over her shoulders on the way home after a date.  
She had returned the jewelry the next day to the jeweler and put the box with the money back in his jacket with the note: _I love you and you are enough for me!_

She had found the bracelet in a kitchen drawer...  
This time the note read: _I love you! Cut the shit!_  
Needless to say, they argued violently both times.

As she reads through the file, something very special catches her eye and she makes an enthusiastic squeal. Everyone turns to her and waits in amazement for an explanation.  
"The security system..." she says in a high, breathless voice and points to the file.  
"It's a laser system built around the play... I've always wanted to do one of these." she says cheerfully and even jumps for a moment.

The other rebels look at her smiling and watch her happily babbling and planning to hang a replica in her apartment to practice for the laser system.

On leaving the office, Rey notices a small change in the room.  
"This is a nice house plant! But it's covering up half of your mother's picture." she says and points to the foliage on the wall in front of the painting.  
Ben and Han hardly noticeably stiffen.  
"Yes, thanks Rey, I'll have it rearranged later!" Leia answers calmly.

The following days, Rey buries herself with the rebels in the apartment and practices on wool strings, which are spread all over the room and peppered with little bells. She enjoys it and the yoga classes she takes pay off thoroughly.

Too excited about the challenge that follows, she only notices the whispering and the pinned heads of the others after a few days... but doesn't think anything of it.

The operation begins on a Friday evening. The owner of the villa, will not be in the house and Rey has a free field.  
Behind the high wall leading to the property, two guard dogs are running free, (Golden Retriever. You can't really call them guard dogs now... They are helper dogs! The name alone says it all... Retriever... i mean, "Get the stick!") which Finn distracts with a stinking piece of beef stomach on a drone.  
Once at the house, Rey climbs up the wall on a climbing rose, opens an unguarded skylight (which Rose has disconnected from the alarm system) and slips into a small broom closet.

Once in the exhibition room, Rey sets up a small fog machine that fills the room with a fine mist in no time.  
The laser beams become visible and Rey recognizes which path she has to take.

"Ok! I'm working my way through the security system now." she reports to the rest of the team via her earpiece.

No answer.

About halfway down the road she is stuck in a very uncomfortable position for a short time and has to stop for a moment to release a cramp in her leg.  
Sweat is dripping down her forehead and she can stop him from falling in time before he touches one of the laser beams.  
(Mission Impossible-like ... sry)

It is hard to imagine what would happen if she was discovered.  
How would an insurance company explain a home invasion?  
But something like this won't happen to her! She is good! If not even the best!

Finally arriving at the display case, Rey sticks the same small signal interrupter to the glass that Poe (when Walter Dyle) had already installed in the museum to separate the exhibit from the rest of the system. (I have no idea if something like this is possible... but I don't care! This is my story!)  
The display case is secured with a simple lock... which Rey cracked in no time.

"Good! I'm through and I'm opening the case." she says.

Again no answer.  
Slowly Rey asks herself if the connection is still alive...

The ring is very untypical in a small, hinged jewelry box.  
Sparkling he is enthroned there and smiles at her literally.  
Rey notices a piece of paper under the jewelry box.  
She disconnects the contact fuse and lifts the small box.  
"Guys! There is a note under the ring..."

Against no reaction...

_Are they asleep?_

Confused, Rey looks at the folded piece of paper and tries to decide whether she should open it...  
Curiosity is death to the cat... but Rey cannot resist.

Carefully she lifts the note, opens it and reads the text, which is written in fine letters.

_Please say yes!_

Rey moves her eyes over and over again over the three words and can't see any connection... until she notices a movement behind her.  
Startled, she turns around with the ring and the note in both hands... and there he stands... Ben!

The fine mist she had sprayed to detect the laser beams is now only wafting around her ankles.  
She stares at him in shock for a long moment, then looks back at her hands..., the ring and the note...  
Then she looks up stunned and sees him smiling.

After another long moment and without knowing how she found her voice...  
She breathes a fine "Yes!"

Immediately the laser system switches off and Ben comes towards her with a beaming happy grin.  
She can hardly believe it when he kneels down directly in front of her and almost with tears in his eyes and a husky voice asks: "Really?"  
Rey has to blink away her own tears and starts grinning as well.  
"I told you yes!" she beeps.

Without another word, he takes the box from her hand and puts the ring on her finger while she bites her lower lip and tears of joy run down her cheek.  
Then he jumps up, pulls her into an embrace and whirls her around laughing loudly.

After a long kiss, he puts her back on the floor and cradles her face between his hands.  
Slowly the knowledge seeps into her mind.

"This was all planned?!"  
"Yes."  
"And the others were all in on it?!"  
"Yes."  
"That's why they didn't answer the radio?"  
"Yes."

Rey can only look at him in amazement.  
The only person in the world who manages to fool her like that... is also the man she loves most!  
He staged all this to make her this special and beautiful proposal of marriage... and Rey knew nothing.

"The others were initiated the day you got the files." he explains.  
"In each of their files was a note with the explanation and the request for silence."  
Rey snorted a little. She can't believe that the three of them were able to keep their mouths shut so well.  
"Your friends, especially Finn and Poe, were happy to lure you into this little trap."  
_With that, Poe and Finn had their revenge for her little pranks_ muses Rey.

"'What about this house?" she asks and points to her surroundings.  
"Is the owner of this house privy to all this?" she asks anxiously.  
"Yes, he is! This house here belongs to my uncle and he was very happy to help us with this little game."  
"Stealing from your family again... it's becoming a bad habit!" she jokes.  
His laughter is disarming.

"By the way, you won't be exchanging this ring! It belonged to my grandmother." he reports and Rey clicks again.  
"The plant in front of the painting in your mother's office."  
The houseplant covered up the ring in the painting.

It all makes sense now.  
The two of them had once watched the movie _Entrapment_ and Rey had mentioned that she would wish she could slip through such a laser system one day, just like Kathrin Zeta Jones. And that's exactly what he made true for her... and distracted her from everything else.

"Wait... if I had touched the lasers... would the alarm have gone off?" she asks unsettled.  
"To be honest, yes!"  
"That would have ruined your proposal quite a bit if I had screwed it up." she says amusedly.  
"Yes, but I knew you could do it without making a mistake."  
"How?" she asks melancholy.  
"Because you're the best in your field, after me."  
Rey can only laugh at his comment and then lets himself be drawn into another intense kiss.

At some point, after they have separated, breathing heavily, he takes her by the hand and pulls her out of the room.  
"Come on kitten! The others are waiting and want to congratulate us."

Rey is almost crushed by the many faces waiting for her.  
The rebels with their respective companions (Poe and Holdo have finally made it official), Ben's family (including Luke, whom she finally gets to meet), Lando, Chewy and some of the company employees, including a very happy Kaydel at the side of a broadly grinning Mitaka.

After everyone has congratulated and they have given a little speech, Rey looks cheerfully into the group.

Rose..., as well as Finn and Poe have found a home here...  
Just as she had wished.

Rey realizes that the memories of her brutal past are overwritten by new memories with her real family, the rebels, the Solos and the RI staff.  
And so, little by little, she will continue to heal.

Even if her life is unusual... She wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> So, with this we are at the end again.
> 
> I suppose...
> 
> I hope you all had fun.  
> Many thanks to the diligent readers and comment writers.  
> I wish you all a pleasant week.  
> Stay healthy and take care of yourselves.
> 
> I am now working on another story and hope to finish it soon. 
> 
> Until then, all the best, your Lori ❤️


End file.
